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Behind the Bastards
Cool Zone Media and iHeartPodcasts
There’s a reason the History Channel has produced hundreds of documentaries about Hitler but only a few about Dwight D. Eisenhower. Bad guys (and gals) are eternally fascinating. Behind the Bastards dives in past the Cliffs Notes of the worst humans in history and exposes the bizarre realities of their lives. Listeners will learn about the young adult novels that helped Hitler form his monstrous ideology, the founder of Blackwater’s insane quest to build his own Air Force, the bizarre lives of the sons and daughters of dictators and Saddam Hussein’s side career as a trashy romance novelist.
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True85% confidence8 sourcesOct 3, 2026The Trump administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act to declare that Tren de Aragua was engaged in an invasion of the U.S. on behalf of the Venezuelan government.Said by AThe sources confirm that on March 14, 2025 the Trump administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act via Proclamation 10903, declaring that Tren de Aragua was perpetrating an invasion of the U.S. The proclamation also says TdA operates with the Maduro-regime-sponsored Cartel de los Soles, which supports the 'on behalf of the Venezuelan government' element as the administration's allegation. Courts later rejected the invasion finding, but that does not contradict the claim that the administration made the declaration.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True93% confidence4 sourcesOct 3, 2026The U.S. government sent 137 Venezuelan men to El Salvador.Said by AMultiple reliable sources, including Reuters and CBS News, report that the U.S. deported 137 Venezuelan men to El Salvador's CECOT prison on March 15, 2025 under the Alien Enemies Act. The claim matches the passage's '137 Venezuelan men' and 'El Salvador' in March, and the 'no connection to the gang' qualifier in the post is dropped without changing the core assertion.True95% confidence5 sourcesOct 3, 2026The United States government listed the Cartel de los Soles as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in November 2025.Said by AThe sources confirm the US formally designated Cartel de los Soles as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, announced by the State Department on November 16, 2025 and effective November 24, 2025, with the Federal Register notice published that day. The extracted claim faithfully matches the passage, which also reports the November 2025 listing.True80% confidence7 sourcesOct 3, 2026The secret legal memo justifying boat strikes was signed on September 5, 2025.Said by AMultiple sources, including a federal court filing and a court-record-based report, state the Office of Legal Counsel memo was issued or signed on September 5, 2025, three days after the first boat strike on September 2. The claim matches the extracted passage, though most sources are unrated and several trace back to the same court record.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True70% confidence8 sourcesOct 3, 2026The Drug Enforcement Administration assessed that boat strikes have not reduced the amount of cocaine entering the United States.Said by AThe Washington Post reported, citing a DEA assessment it reviewed, that the boat strikes have not reduced the amount of cocaine entering the U.S., and an NHPR interview with a Post reporter repeated this. Other outlets trace back to the same Post reporting, and no source contradicts it; the claim matches the passage's wording, and the reporting dates from July 2026, before the 2026-10-03 post.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True95% confidence8 sourcesOct 3, 2026The former president of Honduras was sentenced to 45 years in prison in June 2024 for importing more than 400 tons of cocaine into the United States between 2004 and 2022.Said by AMultiple tier-1 and primary sources confirm that Juan Orlando Hernández, former president of Honduras, was sentenced on June 26, 2024 to 45 years in prison for conspiring to import more than 400 tons of cocaine into the US. The DOJ and CRS sources also tie the trafficking to 2004–2022. The claim's 'importing' wording is slightly loose, since the conviction was for conspiracy to import plus firearms offenses, but this does not change the substance.True85% confidence5 sourcesOct 3, 2026In mid-2025, Donald Trump signed a classified directive authorizing the military to use force against a list of 24 drug trafficking organizations.Said by AMultiple independent sources report that Trump signed a classified directive in July 2025 authorizing military force against a secret list of 24 designated terrorist organizations. The NYT reported the directive in August 2025, The Intercept confirmed the 24-group list from government sources, and a later court filing citing the Washington Post describes a July 25, 2025 directive with a 24-entity annex. The claim's 'mid-2025' timing and the 'classified' and '24' details match the sources, and the extraction faithfully reflects the post.True85% confidence6 sourcesOct 3, 2026In August 2025, the Department of Defense issued an execute order containing targeting instructions that required reasonable certainty rather than positive identification of a target.A 2026 federal court opinion quoting the execute order states that the August 5, 2025 Hegseth EXORD did not require positive identification of any individual and instead required DOD to 'determine with reasonable certainty' that the boat carried adult males affiliated with a designated terrorist organization. Other reporting citing The Washington Post and anonymous officials matches this, so the claim is supported and the extraction tracks the passage.True85% confidence5 sourcesOct 3, 2026In August 2025, the U.S. military issued an execute order requiring reasonable certainty that a target is affiliated with a drug trafficking organization to authorize a strike.Multiple sources report that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued an execute order on August 5, 2025, which required 'reasonable certainty' that targets were members of or affiliated with a designated terrorist organization and did not require positive identification. The claim's central assertion is supported, and the extracted wording is a faithful paraphrase of the post.True90% confidence8 sourcesOct 3, 2026On September 2, 2025, a U.S. military strike killed nine people on a boat in the Caribbean.Said by AMultiple sources state that the September 2, 2025 U.S. strike on a boat in the Caribbean killed nine people in its first strike, matching the claim. The 11 total aboard included two survivors who were killed in a second strike, which the claim does not address, and the post's wording ('Nine people died because of that first missile') is faithful to the claim.True90% confidence7 sourcesOct 3, 2026A U.S. military strike killed at least 123 children at a girls' school in Manab, Iran.Said by AMultiple independent sources report that a U.S. missile strike on the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary girls' school in Minab, Iran, on Feb. 28, 2026 killed at least 123 children, consistent with the claim. The post's spelling 'Manab' appears to be a typo for Minab, and Bloomberg's reporting supports the AI-reliant 'kill chain' framing.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True85% confidence9 sourcesOct 3, 2026Admiral Frank Bradley ordered SEAL Team Six to strike a vessel a second time, killing two survivors who had been in the water for 45 minutes.Said by AMultiple reliable outlets report that Adm. Frank Bradley, then JSOC commander, ordered a follow-on strike by SEAL Team 6 on the September 2 boat that killed two survivors who were clinging to the wreckage. The Intercept (via Airwars) reports the men were in the water for about 45 minutes before the second strike, and the claim's core and details are consistent across sources. The claim's 'in the water' wording is a minor paraphrase of 'clinging to the wreckage', and the sourcing relies partly on anonymous officials.