OH:

JUST IN 🔴

Iran’s state media main website is currently offline. pic.twitter.com/K5MVqFS6fq

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) June 16, 2025

IT’S ALWAYS IN THE LAST PLACE YOU LOOK: Scientists find universe’s missing matter while watching fast radio bursts shine through ‘cosmic fog.’ “This previously missing stuff isn’t dark matter, the mysterious substance that accounts for around 85% of the material universe but remains invisible because it doesn’t interact with light. Instead, it is ordinary matter made out of atoms (composed of baryons) that does interact with light but has until now just been too dark to see.”

Dark matter always felt like a kludge to me.

HEH:

Epic trolling, after the French government ordered Israeli booths to be blocked at Paris Air Show. pic.twitter.com/dZU20995zZ

— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) June 16, 2025

IT’S WEIRD HOW DEMOCRATS KEEP BLEEDING MALE VOTERS:

Introducing @KolbyDuhon, our new Vice-Chair for Finance of the Texas Democratic Party! pic.twitter.com/TOpAjNP9zU

— Texas Democrats (@texasdemocrats) June 15, 2025

And that’s just in Texas.

MEANWHILE, OVER AT VODKAPUNDIT [VIP]: The Funniest Fake Stuff From Operation Rising Lion (So Far).

WATERMELONS: Green group with ties to Chinese Communist Party part of network influencing U.S. policy. “A national-security watchdog group is asking members of Congress to take a closer look at an energy transition advocacy nonprofit that has ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). According to State Armor, the watchdog group, nonprofits are coordinating with U.S. climate groups to influence climate policy, advance the interests of the CCP and undermine U.S. national security.”

IT’S ON: Trump Orders ‘Mass Deportation Program’ in Blue Cities.

COME SEE THE VIOLENCE INHERENT IN THE LEFTISM: Salt Lake City ‘No Kings’ protest murder suspect pushed Antifa views.

Arturo Gamboa, the man charged with murder after a deadly shooting at Salt Lake City’s “No Kings” protest, appears to be a self-described anti-government radical who publicly supported Antifa, rejected the US electoral system, and once said justice should be taken “by any means necessary,” a Facebook page with the same name from Utah reveals.

While Gamboa did not fire the shot that took the life of 39-year-old Arthur Ah Loo, police say his armed and threatening behavior sparked the confrontation, says the Salt Lake Tribune.

Witnesses say Gamboa appeared at the protest wearing a gas mask and carrying an AR-15-style rifle in a backpack. He allegedly emerged from behind a wall and began running toward the crowd with the rifle raised.

A designated “peacekeeper” at the event, wearing a high-visibility vest, opened fire with a handgun—striking Gamboa and inadvertently hitting Ah Loo.

What a mess.

SOMETIMES, IT’S THE LITLE THINGS: This Might Be Britain’s Stupidest Fail Yet.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: NASA sets new potential launch date for Ax-4 mission to ISS.

In a June 14 statement, NASA said it is working with Axiom Space and SpaceX on “reviewing launch opportunities” for the Ax-4 mission, with the earliest such opportunity on June 19.

The mission was set to launch June 11 but was postponed the evening before to correct a liquid oxygen leak in one of the engines in the Falcon 9’s first stage. That repair appeared to be ready to support a launch as soon as June 13, but NASA announced June 12 it put the launch on hold to allow the agency and Roscosmos to assess a “new pressure signature” in a Russian ISS module after recent work there.

The assessment involved a vestibule or “transfer tunnel” known as PrK at one end of the Zvevzda module, connecting a docking port to the rest of the module. That vestibule has had a small leak for several years, despite efforts by Roscosmos to seal it, and the vestibule is usually sealed off from the rest of the station.

NASA said that after the recent work, pressure in PrK remained stable rather than dropping slightly as previously detected.

Previously: ‘Possibility of a catastrophic failure’: Inside the space station leak problem that has NASA worried.

IT’S REMARKABLY LOW, CONSIDERING THE TARGETS: Israel’s Death Toll From Iranian Strikes.

COOL. NOW DO COLORADO: Trump’s DOJ Argues Illinois’ Ban on ‘Assault Weapons’ is Unconstitutional Under the Second Amendment. “In an earlier appeal reviewing a preliminary injunction against the Protect Illinois Communities Act (‘the Act’), this Court held that the Act was likely constitutional and reversed. But this Court made it crystal clear that its opinion was ‘just a preliminary look at the subject.’ Id. at 1197. Now after final judgment, there are three very good reasons why this Court should reverse course and affirm the district court’s injunction.”

Seriously, Colorado needs help: The 12 gun bills passed by the Colorado legislature this year and signed into law.

WELL, BYE: DNC Disarray Continues With a High-Profile Departure.

POWERLINE: No Kings at the Old Folks’ Home. “They were leaving an assisted living facility. But still–they epitomize the demographic of those who turn out for Dem rallies. The Democrats’ violent rioters and looters, admittedly, trend younger.”

A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN THINKING THIS: Is Israel About to Do the (Almost) Unthinkable?

INCENTIVES MATTER: Nearly 1 million illegal immigrants have ‘self deported’ under Trump, which has led to higher wages.

One of those tracks relies on arrests and deportations of aliens unlawfully here, which at the outset has focused mainly on criminals (the “worst first” strategy).

The other track is more subtle but also cheaper for taxpayers and arguably much more effective —encouraging illegal migrants here to self-deport.

It began with an Inauguration Day Trump directive requiring DHS to ensure all aliens present in the United States — legal and otherwise — have registered with the federal government, and to prosecute those who don’t comply.
…
One way to track the program is by checking employment numbers. One financial wiz cited by the Wall Street Journal calculated a decline in the immigrant population of 773,000 in the first four months of Trump II.

The Washington Post claims “a million foreign-born workers have exited the workforce since March.” The Post frames this as “a sign of the weakening labor supply.” Yet the paper also notes, “Average hourly wages accelerated, rising by 0.4 percent over the month, to $36.24 in May, as earnings continue to beat inflation in a boost to workers’ spending power.”

In other words, with fewer illegal immigrants, businesses had to raise wages to attract workers.

Unexpectedly.

RAYMOND IBRAHIM: The Queer Origins of Islam’s War on Dogs.

THE HORROR… THE HORROR…:

LOS ANGELES WOMAN SLAMS ICE: "I have friends texting me…my gardener didn't show up, housekeeper didn't show…farmer's market is closed…everyone's scared…you're gonna have to do your own dishes, clean your own house, mow your own lawn!"pic.twitter.com/yLQPoCUS6d

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) June 15, 2025

“Crazy Ladies Lecturing Their Selfie Cameras” is the worst show on TV.

“LOVE TRUMPS HATE” OR WHATEVER: Brookline Police launch hate crime investigation after brick thrown through kosher grocery store window.

“This morning we received a report from the owner of The Butcherie that a brick had been thrown through their window overnight,” Brookline Police said in a statement Sunday. … “Written on the face of the brick in large red letters were the words ‘Free Palestine.’”

Just after midnight Sunday, police said, multiple suspects in masks approached the local kosher grocery store at 428 Harvard St. from Coolidge Street and threw the brick through the window.

The preliminary investigation indicates that there were at least two suspects in the incident, though the exact number was no confirmed, Brookline Police stated. The suspects allegedly fled back down Coolidge Street to an unknown location after the vandalization.

No other businesses appear to have been targeted “as of now,” the police said Sunday.

Brookline Police identified the case as a “hate crime investigation” with malicious damage of property.

More to come, probably.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: You Know, I Rather Enjoy Being on the Side of Patriotism. “It was rather warm like that here all weekend, so we didn’t have a much of a ‘No Kings Day’ presence here in the Old Pueblo. Apparently, the kids were successful: I checked, and we don’t have a king. In fact, there are no extra kings anywhere in the world as of yesterday. Well done, ‘No Kings’ marchers.”

SOCIAL JUSTICE KILLS:

New in Washington Post:

During Covid, scientists at CDC selected policies that promoted “social justice” even when CDC data showed this would cause more deaths. pic.twitter.com/ivGazYGx88

— Kevin Bass PhD MS (@kevinnbass) June 16, 2025

Lives matter less than their hare-brained ideas — but there’s nothing new about that.

OY: Iranian media claims to hit Israeli planes, but footage was actually a video game.

Iran initially claimed to have shot down a jet and captured a pilot. The news was denied by Israel, which spoke bluntly of fake news. A few hours later, a new announcement from Iranian sources: an Israeli plane was shot down and there is also a video. The clip bounces on social media, showing a jet being hit by anti-aircraft fire.

There is something wrong, however. The doubts are more than well-founded. The clip is nothing more than an excerpt from a video game, Arma 3. The realistic images, among other things, are cyclically re-proposed to document alleged jet shootdowns. Further detail: the plane inserted in the video game is not even Israeli but, apparently, it would be a Russian model.

Then there’s this:

This image is circulating in Irani telegram channels. Some say its fake, but I say its proof of 3 meter tall Iranians around a super sized F-35, which until now was top secret. pic.twitter.com/IUKzccWTLY

— Montoya 🎗️ (@montoya_test) June 15, 2025

Losers glom on to what they need to, I suppose.

NICE WORK, FELLAS: Israeli Car Bombs Take Out Iranian Nuclear Scientists.

DECLINE IS A CHOICE:

Los Angeles resident records what the mall looks like right now in Downtown LA

Every store is boarded up and fortified. This is California, this is supposed to be one of the most prestigious iconic places on earth

Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass have made it a 3rd world country pic.twitter.com/ExCrwYUO4I

— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) June 16, 2025

Sad.

WEATHER VANES TURN AROUND LESS OFTEN: After brief moderation, California’s Newsom swings back to left with ICE protests.

When Newsom ran for governor in 2018 and for re-election in 2022, his platform included progressive causes like universal healthcare, climate change policy, criminal justice reform, and expansion of social welfare programs.

While presumably well-meaning, Newsom’s tenure as governor has exacerbated many of the state’s challenges like prolific homelessness and rising crime. As of 2023, California is home to over 180,000 homeless people, including over 10,000 veterans. Public safety has taken a demonstrable hit since California’s passage of Proposition 47, which, in addition to making drug possession no longer a felony, also classifies five property offenses for which the dollar value is less than $950 as misdemeanors: 1) theft, 2) receiving stolen property, 3) shoplifting, 4) check forgery, and 5) writing bad checks. Before the passage of the proposition, these offenses could be charged as either felonies or misdemeanors.

Prior to his term as California’s governor, in San Francisco, where Newsom was mayor from 2004 to 2011, shoplifting and property crimes spiked, with police reporting a 15% increase in theft-related incidents from 2022 to 2024.

Additionally, it is increasingly harder for residents of the Golden State to purchase a home. California’s median home price has surged to over $900,000, pricing out many middle-class families. Newsom’s policies have also increased taxes and regulatory burdens on businesses.

“Presumably” is doing an awful lot of work in that second graf.