KELI From Inkwell, this is the Independent News Drop. It's Tuesday, May twenty-sixth. The time is four p.m. Central. I'm Keli, and Hast is with me.
HAST Heavy one leading today.
KELI The dispatch at Inkwell comes from Ground News on remarks the president made to Reuters about Iran. He told the outlet he has to be personally involved in appointing Iran's next supreme leader, and he used Venezuela as the model — saying he installed Delcy Rodriguez there after capturing Maduro in January. Quote: "I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy in Venezuela. Khamenei's son is unacceptable to me. The attack knocked out most of the candidates — they are all dead." Now, here's what happened in coverage. Most newsrooms framed this as a military update — a war story. But what the president described on the record is a United States president selecting foreign governments. The structural point: this is empire language. It's not new to American power, but saying it plainly, on tape, to Reuters, is. So watch the next seventy-two hours. If Congress holds hearings, if the State Department clarifies or distances itself, if allies issue statements, those are signs the language itself has moved something in how Washington operates. If it passes without formal pushback, that signals a different baseline has settled in. Both are worth tracking.
HAST On a different front, the Senate confirmed Frank Garcia as the next U.S. envoy to Africa. Garcia's a retired Navy officer, and his confirmation ends a long vacancy in that post. This one matters because his appointment signals a shift. The administration is framing Africa policy around trade and economic competition, not the humanitarian or development angle you heard from previous administrations. Garcia's background is maritime and commerce. That's not accidental. We've covered the Africa appointment process before — this is the closer on that one.
KELI Sticking with long-term bets, NASA unveiled its next steps toward a permanent Moon base. The agency's planning to send hopping drones and roving vehicles to the lunar surface as part of a phased approach. The timeline is years out, not months. These are the unmanned missions that come before crews return. NASA's framing this as foundational work — testing terrain, power systems, life support in actual lunar conditions. That's the setup for the crewed missions that will follow.
HAST Different scale, but here's a media case out of Missouri. A defamation claim against a university-owned public radio station has been dismissed on sovereign immunity grounds. The plaintiff alleged that staffers at KWMU published an article in 2020 accusing him of upholding white supremacy by remaining complacent at the station. The court said the station, as a state entity, has immunity from defamation suits. It's a narrow ruling, but it's one more data point on where the line sits between station editorial decisions and legal exposure.
KELI And before we close, a date marker. On this day in 1940, Operation Dynamo began — the massive evacuation of Allied forces from Dunkirk as German forces advanced through northern France, with defenders fighting to buy time for the retreat.
HAST That's the Independent News Drop. We'll be back this evening. From Inkwell.