A U.S. missile struck a private home in the town of Kuhestak, Iran, on Tuesday night while a wedding was taking place inside. Four people were killed: two women and two children, ages four and sixteen. At least 67 others were wounded. Nineteen of the wounded were children under 10.

Al Jazeera reported that the strike hit at 9:30 p.m. local time. It is the second documented civilian strike in Hormozgan Province. The first, on the war’s opening day in February, destroyed an elementary school in nearby Minab and killed 156 people, including 120 children.

On Wednesday, the Iranian Red Crescent filed a formal referral with the International Criminal Court. It is the first ICC referral targeting U.S. military conduct since the war began. The Red Crescent said the strike “warrants an independent, impartial, thorough, and effective investigation” and called it a potential “war crime.”

CENTCOM said the U.S. military “never targets civilians.” It did not say what military target was near the home, what steps were taken before the strike, or whether the casualties matched the intended target. Iran’s foreign ministry called the attack a “war crime” and said: “The civilians are real. The victims are real.”

A four-year-old and a sixteen-year-old were at a wedding. A missile hit the house they were in. The military said it does not target civilians. It did not say what it was targeting instead.

BREAKING

The Widow of an Airman Who Died Supporting U.S. Operations in Iran Says She Was Denied Benefits

Democracy Now reported Thursday that the widow of a U.S. airman who died while supporting operations in the Iran war says she has been denied survivor benefits. The airman died in service. His wife says the government will not pay what it owes his family.

The war has cost $37.5 billion. Oil companies have made record profits. Defense contractors received a 21-day deadline to ramp up missile production. And a widow who lost her husband in that war says the government told her no.

This is the same government that detained the families of active-duty soldiers, sent sailors to sea for 260 days without soap, and told the country that the Lincoln’s deployment was “not nearly long enough.”

The machine asks people to serve. When they die, it sends their family a denial letter.

EXPOSED

Republican Lawmakers Are Calling for the Defense Secretary’s Removal — and the President Nominated a New Navy Secretary on the Same Day

Democracy Now reported Thursday that Republican lawmakers are now calling for the removal of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. On the same day, the president nominated Hung Cao to serve as Navy Secretary.

In six months, Hegseth has fired the military’s own journalists and hired social media influencers to replace them. He called reports about the USS Lincoln “fake news.” The president said the deployment was “not nearly long enough.” The Army’s civilian chief resigned after clashing with him. The missile supply dropped to “beyond critical” on his watch. And now members of his own party want him gone.

The fact that the president nominated a new Navy secretary on the same day that GOP lawmakers called for Hegseth’s removal suggests the White House sees the writing on the wall… even if it has not said so publicly.

The machine put a television host in charge of the Pentagon. Six months later, his own party is asking for someone else. The journalists were fired. The missiles ran out. The sailors suffered. And the party that confirmed him is backing away.

DEVELOPING

The Government Sided with a Tech Company Against the Press in a Legal Fight over Copyright and AI

Democracy Now reported Thursday that the administration has sided with OpenAI in a legal fight with the New York Times and other newspapers. The case is about whether AI companies can use published journalism to train their systems without paying for it.

The newspapers say their work was used without permission to build a product that now competes with them. OpenAI says the use is legal under existing copyright law. The government filed on the side of the company.

This is the same administration that fired journalists at Stars and Stripes, used broadcast licenses to pressure ABC, and hired social media influencers for secret Pentagon roles. The pattern is consistent: the machine weakens the press at every turn. It fires reporters. It pressures networks. It sides with the companies that replace them.

The press writes the stories. The tech company copies them. The government picks a side. It picked the copier.

They rely on the shadows.
It’s time to turn on the lights.