KELI From Inkwell, this is the Independent News Drop. It's Thursday, May twenty-first. The time is four p.m. Central. I'm Keli, with Hast.
HAST Good afternoon. We're tracking spending in the 2026 midterms, border wall contracts under review, and an update on Gaza's message to Everest. Let's go.
KELI We'll start with campaign money and where it's hiding. The Intercept has been digging into political front groups — organizations that claim to back things like "jobs" or "democracy" or "electing women," but the money behind them often tells a different story. These groups are gearing up early for the 2026 congressional elections, and the funding is already moving. Most donors and donors' intentions stay legally hidden because the groups are structured to avoid disclosure. Here's what you'll see other outlets do: they'll frame this as a warning sign of corruption waiting to happen. But the structural reality is simpler and legal. These front groups exist because current law allows unlimited spending by groups that don't explicitly coordinate with campaigns — and both parties use them. The checkable part: watch whether any of these groups' ad buys in the next eighteen months can be traced back to individual donors once FEC filings come due. That'll tell you if the secrecy is actually hiding something or just exploiting what the law permits.
HAST Staying with federal spending, but on the border. The Trump administration is facing a lawsuit over how it's awarding contracts for wall construction in Texas's Big Bend region. The allegation is that most of the new contracts went to two firms — one of which has a history of legal trouble and construction complaints. ProPublica and the Texas Tribune both have pieces on this today. The contracts are worth over a billion dollars, and the lawsuit raises questions about competitive bidding and oversight. No ruling yet, but the case is moving through federal court.
KELI Different scale, but same administration. Reason magazine has reported on a pattern in the president's lawsuits: damage claims that don't match what experts would calculate. One suit claims one point seven-seven-six billion dollars — the number itself seems chosen for symbolism, not accounting. This kind of claim-stacking happens in multiple cases. Courts will eventually decide if those numbers hold up, but the pattern suggests the damages are being framed for political effect rather than legal precision.
HAST On a different front now. Republicans had planned to pass a major funding bill for Immigration and Customs Enforcement by week's end, but the effort stalled. The delay isn't about the immigration money itself — it's party infighting over unrelated policy issues. Disagreements inside the Republican caucus are blocking votes, and no clear timeline for resumption is on the table. That one's going to keep moving.
KELI Overseas, Iran's economy is in free fall. The country was already struggling with inflation and currency pressure before the regional conflict escalated, but war, an internet blackout, and a shipping blockade are now compounding the crisis. The government's options for economic relief are narrow, and ordinary Iranians are absorbing the costs. Officials have signaled no near-term policy shift, so the squeeze is likely to tighten before it eases.
HAST Finally, an update on a story we've been following. Mountaineers who summited Mount Everest this week carried with them a kite bearing messages and signatures from children in Gaza. The kite reached the peak — the world's highest point — carrying words the climbers wanted to deliver symbolically. It's a continuation of a longer effort to document and preserve those voices during the conflict.
KELI Before we close, a history note. Hast.
HAST On this day in nineteen-eighty-eight, Margaret Thatcher delivered her Sermon on the Mound to the Church of Scotland's General Assembly, defending capitalism and the free market on religious grounds — a speech that still sparks debate among theologians and politicians.
KELI That's the Independent News Drop. We'll be back this evening. From Inkwell.