Sunday Afternoon News Updates: Two Nuclear Sites on Fire, Trump Targets Epstein Allies, and the Cuba War Pretext — 5/17/26

The Trump regime is running the same tired Ponzi scheme playbook and hoping you don't notice.

A massive explosion was reported near Sdot Micha Air Base in Beit Shemesh, Israel, a site widely believed to house missile and nuclear assets. Israeli outlet Kan News said the blast was a “controlled explosion” at a nearby civilian factory.

Hi all, Ben here. It’s Sunday, and as usual, there is a lot happening and so much that is slipping under the radar when it comes to the corporate media. Let me walk you through what we’re tracking this afternoon.

Top stories:

• A drone struck a nuclear power plant in the UAE, and a mysterious explosion rocked a suspected Israeli nuclear and missile storage site

• The Trump regime is laying the groundwork for a Cuba invasion using Axios as its propaganda vehicle

• Eleven U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft are departing the Middle East, the same pattern we saw right before the Iran strikes

• Trump is retaliating against Thomas Massie and other Republicans who pushed for the release of the Epstein files

• Ukraine launched one of its largest-ever drone strikes on Russia, reaching the Moscow region

• Todd Blanche confirms the DOJ is laser-focused on “proving” the 2020 election was stolen

• Mike Johnson tells Americans to wait on kitchen table issues until the Strait of Hormuz is open — the same Strait of Hormuz that was open before Trump’s war

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Let’s get into it.