Colin Stretch

This New York Times piece is worth your time. Here’s what is happening, as simply as I can put it. Back in January, Trump sued the IRS, an agency he controls, demanding $10 billion over the leak of his tax returns a number of years ago. IRS lawyers did their jobs. They wrote a memo laying out the defenses that could beat the suit, including the fact that Trump filed too late. His own lawyer was in court when the leaker pleaded guilty in October 2023, more than two years before Trump sued. The Justice Department never showed up to court. Never argued back. Never used the defenses sitting on their desk. The judge got suspicious and ordered both sides to explain whether they were actually opposing each other or just colluding. The day before that brief was due, Trump dropped the suit. Same day, his Justice Department announced a $1.776 billion taxpayer-funded “anti-weaponization fund.”  Trump gets a formal apology. The IRS agrees to drop any audits of him and his family, even though a 2024 Times report found a loss in an ongoing audit could cost him over $100 million. The acting Attorney General, Trump’s former criminal defense attorney, picks the five commissioners who decide who gets paid. Trump can fire any of them. Proud Boys and Oath Keepers are not ruled out. This is the most corrupt thing I’ve ever seen from an American president. Where in the hell are my Republican colleagues? nytimes.com/2026/05/19/adm…

Corruption on a genuinely breathtaking scale.

Trump looting almost $2 billion from the government coffers to pay his supporters is one of the largest scandals in US history. But our press is so beaten down and the public has become so fatigued by his constant criminality that it's barely a news story.

the latest in president trump’s effort to place himself above the interests of the country. hard to imagine any other president attempting this, but easier now that trump has done it.

Safe bet that this Fund will generate outrageous abuses--perhaps in amount of 1.776 billion dollars. As for 2011 Keepseagle settlement as precedent: 1. In order to have made a claim on Keepseagle fund, you had to be a Native American who was denied a Farm Loan or Loan Servicing by the USDA between Jan. 1, 1981 and Nov. 24, 1999 and who filed a discrimination claim with USDA during that period. Are there any limits on who can make a claim on Anti-Weaponization Fund? 2. Keepseagle settlement was approved by a court. That approval provides some process protection against abuses. Here, by contrast, settlement was designed to evade court review.

Our @CBSNews report today on the drone deal in the works between Ukraine and the US.

Exclusive on @CBSNews - Ukraine and the U.S. are *slowly* moving toward the long-awaited drone deal. There is now a draft memorandum outlining the terms of a new defense agreement between the two countries. cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-u…

Despite the weekend ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, Ukraine’s military said that there were at least 180 battlefield clashes with Russia and noted over 8,000 Russian drone attacks near the frontlines.

“Zelensky had spent last week threatening to disturb the celebrations with Ukrainian drones “buzzing” overhead. While he eventually agreed to Trump’s short ceasefire, the point of the Ukrainian statement was that it would be Kyiv, not Washington, dictating the terms.”

77-year-old Antonina Horuzha was rescued from Ukraine’s Donetsk region by an unmanned ground robot after being unable to escape on foot amid drone threats. She rode in the vehicle for hours before Ukrainian troops were able to collect her. CBS News' Aidan Stretch reports that more robots like this will continue to be deployed.

Ukraine has developed cutting edge de-mining drones, since becoming the world’s most heavily mined country after Russia’s invasion. Could this technology be used to help open the Strait of Hormuz? cbsnews.com/news/how-ukrai…

The Ukrainian Army's TerMIT 2.0 is revolutionizing how its soldiers fight Russian forces on the front lines and evacuate civilians from danger. CBS News' @aidan_stretch spoke to troops about how autonomous warfare is helping Ukraine stay in the fight against Russia, even amid an 8-to-1 disadvantage in some parts of the battlefield.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is back in Riyadh today after signing defense agreements with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the U.A.E. over the past month.

“From morning until evening. Sometimes it can be two days.” - what one Ukrainian volunteer told me when I asked how long she stays after arriving to clean up in the aftermath of a Russian strike.

Hungary's new leader has vowed to wean his country off Russian energy. It will be a painful transition. cbsn.ws/4mrYZiY

“Now with war roiling the Middle East, prospects for a major drone partnership have been revived—this time, not by the White House but by America’s private sector.” You can read my piece in @TheFP on the Americans interested in Ukraine’s drone tech here: thefp.com/p/ukraines-dro…

Ukrainian long-range strikes have left heavy damage to major Russian oil ports as Ukraine aims to chip away at the Russia's ability to fund the conflict with the country and offset gains made during the Iran war. CBS News' @aidan_stretch reports on how Ukraine is hitting Russia's war funding.

Former CIA director David Petraeus told me that the U.S. needs to learn a “whole new concept of warfare” from Ukraine. A few key takeaways from our interview. 🧵👇

General Petraeus explains to @cbsnews how the first autonomous weapons will be deployed on the battlefield, predicting that we may see them first in Ukraine in the next couple of years.

Never has someone been more right than Geno. The way the NCAA runs the women’s tournament is shameful.