The Hound | Mar. 18

Hi there,

It’s Wednesday. Bank of America attempted to quietly settle a lawsuit claiming it ignored suspicious financial transactions involving Jeffrey Epstein. Top US officials are testifying before Congress over the Iran War and the growing domestic threats as a result of the war. And Illinois Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton prevailed in a contentious Democratic primary to succeed retiring Sen. Dick Durbin in the Senate. She is heavily favored to win in November and would increase the number of Black senators serving concurrently to a historically high six!

Yesterday’s Illinois Democratic primary saw an extraordinary surge of outside spending, with AIPAC-aligned groups raising and spending roughly $21 million to shape the outcome. This level of spending by a single interest-aligned network is not just a campaign detail—it is a defining feature of the race that raises serious questions about influence, accountability, and whose voices are being amplified. When tens of millions of dollars flow into a race from groups with specific policy agendas, failing to center that fact leaves voters without a clear understanding of what is driving the campaign and what interests may be at play.

🖊️ Add your name to call on major news organizations to treat massive outside spending like this as a central political story—tracking where the money comes from, how it is spent, and what it means for governance after the election.

Democracy depends on transparency, and voters deserve clear reporting when outside money reaches this scale and significance.

Read about this, and more, with today’s stories:

Special-Interest Super PACs Underperform in Illinois (The American Prospect)

Illinois Results: Daniel Biss Beats Kat Abughazaleh in Blow to Left and AIPAC Alike (The Intercept)

Finally, Democrats—of All Stripes—Are Coming After the Wealthy’s Money (The New Republic)

Top US intelligence officials set to testify about Iran war and threats confronting the homeland (AP News)

Bank of America settles lawsuit brought on behalf of Jeffrey Epstein victims (PBS)

Federal Cyber Experts Thought Microsoft’s Cloud Was “a Pile of Shit.” They Approved It Anyway. (ProPublica)

Mamdani team moves to stop New York from representing Eric Adams in assault suit (The Guardian)

Red states move to protect crisis pregnancy centers using model legislation (NPR)

Until next time,

Harry from The Hound

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