Happy Wednesday Everyone! Today’s newsletter: 1,214 words…4.6 mins
🗞 Today’s Edition: Telegram Founder Gives Russia The Bird, U.S.-Saudi Tag Team, Peru's First Woman President, Mamdani's Doxxing Firestorm, Fauci's Showdown At Capitol Hill, DoorDash Drones, Marth Stewart's AI App...& much more!
😺 Did you know the CIA once had a spy cat? Scroll down to read about it!
Enjoying NewzHawk? Share it with friends and family — just send them here: Sign Up!
📜THE HIGHLIGHT
One killer insight to stash in your back pocket
Explosion as joint airstrikes hit terrorist group
🤝 US & Saudi Arabia Strike Iran's Proxies in Iraq
The Middle East just got a new tag team. The U.S. and Saudi Arabia launched coordinated precision airstrikes Tuesday night against Iran-backed militia logistics and weapons sites across Iraq.
This was in response to more than 30 drone attacks by Iran, in just 72 hours targeting U.S. forces and Saudi energy infrastructure.
🇺🇸 Washington says the drones were launched by IRGC-directed militias operating from Iraqi territory, framing the strikes as self-defense after months of escalating attacks.
It's the first publicly confirmed joint U.S.-Saudi combat operation against these groups in the current U.S.-Iran war—a major shift for Riyadh, which has largely avoided direct military involvement until now.
We're going to beat the fuc*ing sh*t out of them. We'll be hitting them hard.
💣 The strikes reportedly killed at least 20 PMF fighters and wounded 32, with reports also indicating several Iranian advisers were among the dead.
Meanwhile, regional tensions kept climbing: Jordan intercepted Iranian ballistic missiles aimed at a U.S.-linked base, oil prices jumped on fears of wider conflict, and concerns over the Strait of Hormuz returned to the spotlight.
💡Why It Matters: The biggest headline isn't the bombs—it's the coalition. Saudi Arabia has now publicly joined the U.S. in striking Iran-backed militias, signaling Washington is no longer carrying the fight alone. For Tehran and its proxy network, that means future attacks could face a broader, more coordinated military response.
♟️THE CHESSBOARD
Geopolitics Decoded In 3 Moves
Telegram Founder and CEO Pavel Durov
🇷🇺 📱 Russia Charges Durov With Terrorism... He Gives Them The Bird
Russia’s FSB charged Telegram’s founder and CEO Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorism and issued an international arrest warrant.
The accusation: Telegram’s allowing Ukrainian intelligence and other groups to use the platform to coordinate sabotage, terrorist attacks, and cyber operations inside Russia.
Durov's response? Pure internet chaos. Telegram's official X account posted a photo of him flipping the bird, while Durov reportedly changed his profile picture to a meme portraying himself as a terrorist, openly mocking the charges.
The move marks the Kremlin's biggest escalation yet against the messaging app, which has long resisted government censorship.
💡 Why it matters: Russia's been trying to kill Telegram for years and just handed its founder the ultimate main-character moment. Moral of the story…? You can charge Durov with terrorism, but you can't make him take you seriously.
🇵🇪 Peru Just Made History—And Took A Sharp Turn To The Right
Keiko Fujimori was sworn in as Peru's first elected female president after winning one of the closest elections in the country's history by fewer than 50,000 votes.
Running on an "iron fist" platform against gangs and organized crime - including a Bukele-style mega-prison; she pledged to restore order, slash government waste, and boost the economy.
Her inauguration drew allies like Argentina's Javier Milei, while opposition lawmakers walked out and protesters filled the streets.
💡 Why It Matters: Peru is the latest Latin American country betting that tough-on-crime leadership can restore stability. If Fujimori delivers, her victory could accelerate the region's broader shift toward conservative governments prioritizing security over the status quo.
🚣 The UK-France “Stop the Boats” Deal Just Hit Turbulence
Conservative MP Chris Philp released footage from northern France showing French gendarmes allegedly watching as around 100 migrants launched a small boat toward Britain—despite the UK paying France more than £500 million to disrupt crossings.
In the video, officers say their orders are to talk to migrants, not physically stop departures.
The controversy escalated when a French warship fired 17 rounds near Philp’s BBC interview boat, which he called intimidation; France described it as a routine drill.
💡 Why It Matters: The Channel crisis has become a test of whether allies can actually enforce shared security agreements. For Britain, the issue is no longer just illegal crossings—it’s whether hundreds of millions spent on cooperation are producing real results.
🗽THE EMPIRE FILES
Political Drama From DC To NYC
⚖ Fauci’s Capitol Hill Showdown Turned Into A Constitutional Cage Match
Dr. Anthony Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times while facing questions about COVID origins, lab-leak theories, research funding, and pandemic decisions at the Senate hearing.
The hearing, led by Sen. Rand Paul, quickly turned into a partisan clash, with Republicans demanding accountability and Democrats calling it a political spectacle.
Senators came armed with 1,100+ pages of Fauci’s pandemic-era notes, while Sen. Josh Hawley and Sen. Bernie Moreno argued his Presidential pardon should remove any self-incrimination concerns.
Hawley then tested Fauci’s blanket refusal by asking simple questions—like the color of his tie and the carpet in front of him. Fauci still declined to answer, fueling Republican accusations that he was showing “contempt” for the committee.
The hearing also erupted when Fauci’s lawyer was removed after a clash with lawmakers.
💡 The Fauci fight has become the symbol of America’s unresolved COVID trust war.
😲 NYC’s “Tax the Rich” Push Just Created A Privacy Firestorm
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration launched a searchable database of nearly 960,000 property records potentially tied to the city’s new pied-à-terre surcharge—far exceeding the roughly 31,000 luxury second homes originally highlighted.
The list includes names, addresses, and property details, sparking accusations that City Hall created a public “doxxing database.”
Critics say innocent homeowners, including some middle-class residents and officials, were swept in.
💡The controversy follows Mamdani’s viral confrontation outside billionaire Ken Griffin’s penthouse, turning the tax into a larger battle over wealth, privacy, and class politics.
🤖 CODES & POWER
Tech Wars, Crypto Chaos, and AI’s Black Mirror Moments
🚁 DoorDash Delivery By Drones
The company officially earned an FAA Part 135 certification and launched DoorDash Air, its in-house drone delivery operation.
Built by DoorDash Labs, the program gives the company control over the entire stack—from aircraft to routing software.
The drones will initially target 3–5 mile deliveries, helping bypass traffic delays while still keeping human Dashers as the backbone of the service.
⚡DoorDash Air enters a growing field of drone-delivery operators including Amazon’s Prime Air and Alphabet’s Wing and Zipline.
🏠 Martha Stewart’s Giving Your House An AI Brain
The lifestyle icon co-founded Hint, a new AI-powered home management app that turns your address into a personalized “home dashboard.”
It tracks everything from soil and flood risks to appliances, warranties, insurance gaps, and maintenance schedules.
⚡ Think less chatbot, more digital homeowner assistant—designed to stop small problems from becoming five-figure disasters.
📺 FUN FACTS & TRIVIA
The CIA once tried to turn a cat into a spy
During the Cold War, the CIA developed operation Acoustic Kitty, an attempt to use a house-cat equipped with a microphone and transmitter to eavesdrop on people.
The project reportedly cost millions and was ultimately abandoned when the cat got runover by a taxi.
/