Breaking Down: Collapse

Sources: Banning Islam, deporting Muslims discussed at Fort Worth church after primary elections | Fort Worth Report "Political suicide": Idaho Republicans vote no on overturning same-sex marriage - LGBTQ Nation Trump administration threatens eminent domain to seize warehouses for ICE detention Kids Online Safety Act: New Protections and Parental Controls. (119_HR_7757) SAVE Plan Blocked: Student-Loan Borrowers Kicked Off in Court Reversal - Business Insider Kash Patel gutted FBI counterintelligence team tasked with tracking Iranian threats days before US strikes, sources say | CNN Politics Pete Hegseth evades question on whether U.S. is at "war" with Iran: "The lawyers will debate all of these things. We have great lawyers, and we'll make sure it's all buttoned up...call it what you want." : r/law Donald Trump threatens to veto all bills until SAVE Act passes Senate Donald Trump tells House Republicans: SAVE America Act will ‘guarantee the midterms’ Trump won't say if he'll send armed agents to the polls. So Dems are suing to find out - Democracy Docket Kristi Noem battered over $143M in no-bid contracts to operative-tied biz that doesn’t have a HQ or even website | The Independent Trump sets off GOP shockwave by contradicting testimony Noem made under penalty of perjury - Alternet.org DOGE Lead in deposition details how he emailed documents to his personal device to then send with Signal using auto delete : r/law DOGE staffer responsible for flagging grants for ‘DEI’ struggles to define DEI : r/law DOGE member took Social Security data on a thumb drive, whistleblower alleges - The Washington Post Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we discuss yet another war, waged by the US and Israel against Iran. The war is destabilizing conditions in the Middle East and threatens economic catastrophe throughout the rest of the world. The latest: Iran’s president says nation 'will not bow' to pressure from US and Israel Tehran indicates Khamenei's son will be named supreme leader as Israel expands Iran strikes Iran war's targets widen into civilian infrastructure and Saudi Arabia reports first deaths Iran Says Can Fight Intense War For 6 Months As Israel, US Step Up Strikes Trump’s demands for ending Iran war shift as US military works through its target list Qatar warns that oil could double to $150 a barrel and 'bring down the economies of the world' | This is Money Strait of Hormuz Shutdown : r/collapse Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Researchers stumbled upon the discovery of a glacier collapse in East Antarctica, which was determined to be the fastest glacial collapse every recorded. It spells trouble for other (larger) glaciers in similar situations. Antarctica just saw the fastest glacier collapse ever recorded | ScienceDaily Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the things I fear most about collapse is that there's so much we don't understand, and that inevitably means there will be consequences we can't predict. Today I go through a couple of recent findings that weren't necessarily expected by the scientific community, and therefore not accounted for in climate models. Antarctic warming is altering atmospheric stability: New evidence from the 1950s to the present Volcanism-induced collapse and recovery of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation under glacial conditions | Science Advances Reduced Vegetation Uptake During the Extreme 2023 Drought Turns the Amazon Into a Weak Carbon Source - Botía - 2026 - AGU Advances - Wiley Online Library Brazil’s growing water crisis Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some new research has come out showing that for every .1C rise in temperature, there's a 7.2% loss in marine life. Chronic ocean heating fuels ‘staggering’ loss of marine life, study finds | Marine life | The Guardian Long-term warming reduces fish biomass, but heatwaves shift it | Nature Ecology & Evolution Climate Reanalyzer Scientists Thought Antarctic Ice Melt Helped Fight Climate Change. It Doesn’t Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Homeowners are faced with continually less options - and even when new options are presented, they're often traps Home Foreclosures Surge 38% in a Year: The U.S. Housing Market on the Brink Why This Tiny Apartment is Taking Over American Cities : r/collapse Trump pauses 50-year mortgage plan, drafts 401(k) down payment access Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Odds have risen sharply for a breach of the minimum power pool level as soon as July (worst case) and December (most probable) of this year. On top of that, it's been revealed that structural limitations to the dam itself might mean that MPP is the lowest level at which any water can be reliably delivered downstream. The coming failure of Glen Canyon Dam - High Country News No deal forces Colorado River crisis to continue | Western Colorado | gjsentinel.com The Colorado River rift abides - High Country News Lake Powell forecast plummets toward critical lows, study says Big Decisions Loom for a Rapidly Shrinking Lake Powell - Circle of Blue Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New research indicates that several tipping points may be officially crossed before we technically hit 1.5C. The paper also researched the impacts of duration above a benchmark vs highest temperature peak. Global warming must peak below 2°C to limit tipping point risks - University of Exeter News The implications of overshooting 1.5 °C on Earth system tipping elements—a review - IOPscience Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It seems that collapse is a weight, slowing pressing down making life harder for the every-day person. Home owners struggle as insurance premiums rise more than 50 per cent in five years - ABC News Job Searches Lengthen, Savings Dwindle for Americans - Business Insider Social Security trust fund could run dry earlier than expected, analysis finds - CBS News California's Housing Crisis Has Turned RVs Into Rental Properties : r/collapse Oil majors profit $467bn since Russia’s Ukraine invasion | Global Witness Maxing out your 401(k) or pouring money into index funds makes you complicit in the problem — you're literally funding the endless, exponential-growth doomsday machine of modern capitalism. : r/collapse Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sources: In an extraordinary and illegal move, Trump says he's transferring 10 billion dollars from the US government to his "Board of Peace," which he chairs and can therefore use the funds as he wishes : r/law Turns Out There Was Voter Fraud in Georgia—by Elon Musk | The New Republic Trump: "The Supreme Court has given me the unquestioned right to ... destroy foreign countries." Oh? Is that correct? : r/law Can they actually do this? JD Vance: "We're announcing today that we have decided to temporarily halt certain amounts of Medicaid funding that is going to the state of Minnesota in order to ensure that the state of Minnesota takes its obligations seriously to be good stewards of the American people' : r/law Former ICE instructor testifies agents were trained to discard constitutional rights : r/law Musk's xAI, Pentagon reach deal to use Grok in classified systems Pentagon pressures Anthropic on AI access DOJ Withheld Epstein Files Including Allegations That Trump Sexually Abused a Minor: Report The Epstein files arrest of former ‘Prince’ Andrew makes Trump’s Justice Department look pathetic | The Independent Trump responds to question about Prince Andrew’s arrest: ‘I’m the expert… I’ve been totally exonerated.’ : r/law Supreme Court rules that Trump’s sweeping emergency tariffs are illegal | CNN Politics President Trump imposes a 10% global tariff under Section 122 and says all existing tariffs will remain in place, despite the recent Supreme Court ruling. : r/law FedEx sues Trump administration for tariff refunds after ruling Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One area of collapse I find very intriguing is humanity's response. How do regular people react, and what do those in power do? Here are a few examples from news this week. Activist group Extinction Rebellion says it is under FBI investigation | Climate Crisis News | Al Jazeera Switzerland Will Vote on 10-Million Population Cap Proposal in June - Bloomberg Munich Security Conference 2026: Macron says Europe 'must act proudly, not be vilified' Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A recent cold snap in Florida did ~$1 billion in damage to agriculture. This is likely just the beginning of many such events, and could lead to widespread food insecurity and other catabolic collapse consequences. Florida nurseries face millions in losses from devastating freeze damage Florida suspends farm inspections after freeze and drought losses 'It's still early': South Florida farmers assess crop damage after hard freeze Damage to Florida's crops could top $1 billion due to freeze Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scientists are growing more concerned about the rise of privately funded geoengineering startups. The space is severely underregulated and may just lead us to a "Don't Look Up" situation. Why scientists warn of privately funded geoengineering Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A quick update on the Kessler Syndrome, based on new research showing how long it would take for a catastrophic collision to occur if communications were cut. Low-Earth orbit is just 2.8 days from disaster | ScienceDaily Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sources: Alex Pretti Died Defending an EMT. ICE Wouldn’t Let Her Treat Him. | The New Republic Courts have ruled 4,400 times that ICE jailed people illegally. It hasn’t stopped. | Reuters Kristi Noem Left Humiliated After ICE Director Admits Agents She Defended Lied Under Oath | IBTimes UK Wave of Arrests Hits ICE Officers Following Rising Claims of Sexual Abuse, Domestic Violence and Misconduct | IBTimes UK Trump: ‘There will be Voter I.D. for the Midterm Elections, whether approved by Congress or not!’ - Democracy Docket Almost a billion dollars in pro bono deals between the Trump Administration and these Big Law firms, yet nobody's seen these deals in writing. The word “bribery” has come up several times, so I sent a letter to the Chairs of these law firms, asking them to actually show their work. - Katie Phang : r/law FBI 'unlawfully withheld' tapes of Tom Homan's 'potentially corrupt actions' after bag of cash probe 'absurdly' ended, lawsuit alleges | Law & Crime Reddit, Meta, and Google Voluntarily Gave DHS Info of Anti-ICE Users, Report Says Fury as it emerges DOJ are tracking search history of lawmakers viewing unredacted Epstein files | Irish Star Epstein was invited to gatherings with a dozen members of Congress years after his initial arrest, documents reveal | The Independent Ro Khanna, on eve of Munich Security Conference, calls on world leaders to hold Epstein associates in their own governments accountable : r/law Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem—”Close Personal Friend” Of Epstein— Resigns As CEO Of DP World White House Scrambles to Rein in Felon Donald Trump’s Presidential Pardons Republican Joins With Dems on Constitutional Amendment to Give Congress Power to Reject Trump Pardons Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Economic doomsday has been preached week in and week out for decades. A broken clock is wrong twice a day - but are we actually on the edge of economic disaster this time? US debt forecast to hit $64T in a decade as Trump policies widen deficit - POLITICO US job cuts surge to highest January total since 2009 : r/economicCollapse Trump Is Reverse Engineering The Great Recession Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many say (and I tend to agree) that the only way to stop the current descent into fascism is for an effective general strike. Is it possible to carry such a strike out in the US? Non-participation as a strategy for social change : r/collapse What actually happens if everyone just… stops participating? : r/collapse Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Meta jumps further into the AI surveillance bandwagon, trying to release facial recognition into their meta glasses under the radar. Meta reportedly wants to add face recognition to smart glasses while privacy advocates are distracted | The Verge Palantir CEO defends surveillance tech as US government contracts boost sales | Reuters Ring cancels its partnership with Flock Safety after surveillance backlash | The Verge Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Hansen has come out with a new blog highlighting research that shows we'll likely officially hit 2c, in the long term, towards the mid/end 2030's, and in the short term in the early 2030's. We will likely hit 3c in the 2050's or 60's. Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sources: Why the Tulsi Gabbard election raid is scarier than initially thought. GOP fast tracks monster voter suppression bill that could disenfranchise millions by requiring proof of citizenship at polls - Democracy Docket Democrats sound alarm about possible voter intimidation in midterms - POLITICO Intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard’s office obtained and tested voting machines in Puerto Rico | CNN Politics Full video of today when Ro Khanna revealed Epstein associate's names on the floor of the US House of Representatives, protected by the Speech and Debate Clause : r/law Pam Bondi hearing devolves into shouting matches with Democrats over Epstein and DOJ prosecutions Ghislaine Maxwell’s refusal to answer questions before Congress draws criticism: ‘Who is she protecting?’ | Ghislaine Maxwell | The Guardian Less than 14% of those ICE arrested had violent criminal records, data show ICE Ramps Up Targeting of Minneapolis Legal Observers Trump administration declines judge’s request to return college student who was deported over Thanksgiving break - ABC News Elon Musk Will Be Deposed Over What He Did With DOGE | The New Republic Grand jury declines criminal charges against 6 Democrats who urged military to reject illegal orders - CBS News Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.