BThere's a story floating around about Meghan Markle's family that I want to flag.
BOh, this one. The tabloid one.
BA post claims Thomas Markle Jr. told The Sun he found hundreds of CSAM images on his dad's old computers in the Philippines.
BAnd that he reported it to the FBI. That's a serious allegation.
BIt is. And it's unverified. It comes from The Sun, a tabloid. No independent confirmation, no official word from the FBI or Philippine police.
BSo we're not going to repeat it as fact. But the fact that it's out there, with Meghan's name attached, is its own story.
BIt's a pattern. Every few months, something about her family surfaces, and it's always from the same kind of source.
BAnd it always gets amplified. That's the part that bothers me. The allegation is unverified, but the amplification is very real.
BWe'll keep an eye on it. If the FBI or Philippine authorities confirm anything, we'll tell you.
BDifferent world entirely: there's a claim about a Circle shareholder suing Trump and World Liberty Financial over the USD1 stablecoin.
BA shareholder suit? That's new.
BThe post says the complaint was filed in DC, and it centers on a $2 billion... something. The text cuts off.
BAnd it's unverified. No court filing, no credible news report. Just a post from an account called Tibetan Diviner.
BWell, that's a name I trust with my legal news.
BRight. But here's the thing: World Liberty Financial is real, and it's been in the news for crypto conflicts before.
BSo a lawsuit wouldn't be shocking. But until we see a filing, it's a rumor.
BAnd there's another unverified legal claim making the rounds. Katie Phang posted that Trump was ordered to sit for a deposition by December 11th in his defamation suit against the BBC.
BA $10 billion defamation suit. That's a big number.
BIt is. And Phang is a legal commentator, so she'd know. But there's no court order or news report confirming it yet.
BSo we wait. But if it's true, that's a real deadline. A sitting president, a videotaped deposition, a foreign broadcaster.
BIt would be a circus. But for now, it's a claim.
BHere's one that'll start a fight: a Bluesky post from Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò says, 'breaking news: foreign powers cause regime change in Iran and are quickly dissatisfied with the results.'
BThat's a joke, but it's a sharp one.
BIt's sarcasm about the whole cycle. We've seen it before: Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan. Regime change sounds clean until it isn't.
BAnd Iran is the current focus. There's been talk of strikes, of pressure, of regime change. Táíwò is pointing at the pattern.
BBut here's my pushback: not every intervention is the same. The situations are different, the goals are different.
BThe results, though? They rhyme. That's his point. You can't just topple a government and expect sunshine.
BBut sometimes the status quo is worse. Sometimes doing nothing is the bigger failure.
BThat's the real argument, isn't it? Not whether regime change is messy, but whether the alternative is messier.
BAnd in Iran right now, with the nuclear program and the proxy wars, a lot of people think the alternative is worse.
BA lot of people thought that about Iraq too. That's why the joke lands.
BFair. The joke lands because the history is real.
BAnd on a much lighter note... a Bluesky user named Ryan posted, 'Breaking news: Tired homosexual gets haircut. Powers restored, but is it too much?'
BThat's the kind of breaking news I can get behind.
BIt's a personal joke, but it's also a perfect parody of how we do news. Everything is breaking.
BThe haircut is breaking. The powers are restored. The existential question: is it too much?
BI think we've all been there. You get the haircut, you feel powerful, then you catch your reflection and wonder.
BThe real news is that the powers were restored. That's the headline.
BAnd on that note, we're going to keep watching the real breaking news: the unverified claims, and whatever actually gets confirmed.
BBecause that's the job. Separate the haircut from the headlines.