Hello and welcome to Background Briefing, available 24-7 at Background Briefing.org.

I'm Ian Masters, and today we'll look into a number of stories and issues in the news.

We'll begin with yesterday's primary elections, in particular in California, and get an

analysis of the results from Sacramento-based reporter Sasha Abramsky, who writes the authoritarian

watch column for the nation and is the author of several books including

Breadline USA, American Furies, The American Way of Pover and Chaos comes

calling the Battle Against the Far Right Takeover of Small Town America. His

latest book is American Carnage, how Trump, Musk and Doge butchered the US

government and his latest articles at the nation include

we should all be mad as hell about the Trump's $1.8 billion slush front and America's

authoritarian remodel is well underway.

Then we'll examine yesterday's testimony by the acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who

again pulled a bait and switch as he distracted us by highlighting the end of Trump's $1.8 billion slush fund, while admitting that the order shielding Trump and his family from IRS's

past, present and future remains in place. Joining us is Edward McCaffrey, the Robert C. Packard

trustee chair in law and a professor of law, economics and political science at the University

of Southern California. He is the author of Fair Not Flat, How to Make the Tax System Better

and Simpler, and the founder of the People's Tax Page. Then finally, we'll investigate another distraction with Trump cursing out Netanyahu,

but behind the scene, the Pentagon moves to take over from the State Department oversight

of military aid to Israel as the US and the IDF's military relationship deepens.

Joining us is Stephen Simon, who served on the National Security Council staff as senior

director for Middle Eastern and North African Affairs and also worked on the NSC scuff on counterterrorism

and Middle East security policy.

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