Cuba's economy is in a terminal state after losing subsidized oil from Venezuela, its last patron, due to Trump-era tariff threats.
US sanctions created an effective oil blockade, leading to a total systemic failure worse than the 1990s crisis.
Sarah Burke reports consequences include empty hotels, shuttered hospitals, and widespread blackouts across the island.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is leveraging the fuel crisis to demand Cuba establish a credible monetary system and restructure its state enterprises.
The Cuban regime has blinked, ceding its monopoly on oil imports to private businesses to secure supply.
Washington is pushing a deal that would open the country to investment from Miami-based Cuban exiles, inviting them to buy back the island.
Sarah Burke says the US may accept a 'Venezuela model' where the Castro family remains in power in exchange for aggressive economic liberalization.
This pragmatic deal would favor American firms and Miami exiles while leaving the old guard's political influence intact.
Resistance from within Cuba is unlikely as the young people most likely to protest have already fled in record numbers.
The regime's choice is between controlled economic liberalization or a total, unmanaged collapse of the state.
A Los Angeles jury awarded $6 million to a user who argued Instagram and YouTube's addictive design caused her anxiety.
The legal victory bypassed Section 230 immunity by targeting platform architecture like infinite scroll, not user content.
Plaintiffs argued auto-play and infinite scroll are not neutral tools but addictive traps that constitute defective design.
Lawyers are comparing the case to the litigation that brought down Big Tobacco, threatening scaled liability.
Thousands more liability suits are queued nationwide as internal documents show executives knew products harmed children.
Australia banned social media for children under 16, with similar proposals active in Britain, Brazil, and Malaysia.
Public opinion in 30 countries now favors age-based social media bans, signaling a tipping point against the attention economy.
Removing addictive features like infinite scroll could destroy the core utility and business model of major social platforms.
Trump claims Iranian regime change is already accomplished to justify a swift military withdrawal from the conflict.
Trump's primary focus has shifted to securing the Straits of Hormuz and stabilizing global oil prices.
Anshul Pfeffer reports Trump is now pursuing a deal with the Iranian regime he previously vowed to destroy.
Pfeffer says Trump wants to unilaterally define victory in the Iran conflict on his own terms.
Israel's security goal is not just a deal but the complete toppling of the Iranian regime.
Israel runs narrative operations via Persian satellite channels, broadcasting footage of unrest to incite a domestic Iranian uprising.
Israeli jets cannot conduct long-range strikes on Tehran without American tankers providing mid-air refueling.
This military dependency on US tankers gives Washington final control over the duration of the conflict.
Netanyahu is politically trapped by his brand as Trump's closest ally, making a public break with the US president untenable.
Israeli leaders fear Trump will end the war without achieving Israel's security objectives.
The US continues the joint military venture, with thousands of troops deploying to the Gulf and bombing ongoing.
A widening gap exists between the US goal of a diplomatic deal and Israel's goal of instigating regime change.
Israel watches US back-channel talks with Iran anxiously, unable to risk a major rift with its sole superpower patron.