Both parties met Saturday morning, only a few days into the 12-day ceasefire that began Wednesday.

Vice President JD Vance announced Saturday night that the Iranian regime's refusal to back off of their nuclear ambitions led to the breakdown in talks.

Vice President JD Vance gives an update in Pakistan:

"The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon." pic.twitter.com/il4THN5DwV

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 12, 2026

"The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that will enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon. That is the core goal of the president of the United States and that's what we've tried to achieve through these negotiations," Vance said.

"Again, their nuclear program such as it is -- the enrichment facilities that they had before, they've been destroyed. But the simple question is, do we see a fundamental commitment of will from the Iranians not to develop a nuclear weapon, not just now, not just two years from now but in the long term?

"We haven't seen that yet but we hope we will."

President Donald Trump previously suggested the talks may not go well earlier on Saturday, downplaying their importance.

“Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me,” Trump said, according to The Wall Street Journal. “And the reason is because we’ve already won.”

Speaking with the New York Post, Trump also said that the military was preparing to ramp up strikes against Iran should the talks fail.

Multiple U.S. warships were loaded up and sent off to the region with fresh ammunition, per the president.

Some 21 percent of Germans between 14 and 29 who participated in the survey said they are planning to leave the country, according to DW.com. About 41 percent said they can picture themselves doing so at a future date.

The survey of 2,012 people aged 14 to 29 took place between Jan. 9 and Feb. 9 and was conducted by Datajockey Verlag. No margin of error was given.

Lack of economic security, increased costs for housing, and rising living expenses were listed as top problems.

"The results of the study show in a dramatic way just how much the pressures of recent years are affecting young people -- in the form of stress, exhaustion and a growing sense of a lack of prospects," study director Simon Schnetzer said.

The poll comes as the Alternative for Germany party, a right-wing party, could win a majority in the September elections in places like Saxony-Anhalt, in what once was East Germany, according to The New York Times.

AfD is the second-largest party in Germany at the federal level.

The party calls for refugees to be either deported or moved into group homes. It also wants to ban "pride" flags and provide tax breaks for large families.

“I want to give the citizens in Saxony-Anhalt their good, old, secure Germany back,” Ulrich Siegmund, the AfD’s candidate to lead the state, said.

“It will be a very beautiful country with a very good spirit of optimism; certainly for the children, for the families,” he added.

Dissatisfaction with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government is clear, with a 15 percent approval rating in a new poll, according to Politico.

The government's favorability has dropped 9 points since a March survey.

The poll found 84 percent of Germans are dissatisfied with Merz’s government, a coalition of the center-right Christian Democratic Union, the Christian Social Union, and the center-left Social Democratic Party.

Individually, only 21 percent said Merz was doing a good job.

According to a YouGov poll from 2025, 31 percent of all Germans surveyed would “definitely” leave if factors such as jobs, money, or personal connections did not keep them in the country. The two highest areas of dissatisfaction were migration at 61 percent and cost of living at 41 percent, according to the European Conservative.

The poll found 79 percent of AfD supporters said they would leave Germany if they could.

Germany is estimated to have about 5.5 million Muslims.

In the hours after the San Francisco Chronicle published an article in which an ex-staffer accused California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of sexual abuse, and CNN spoke with at least three additional women who accused him of sexual misconduct, the endorsements page on the Eric Swalwell for Governor website went to a 404.

On Wikipedia, the number of endorsements that were being struck through because they had been withdrawn was so bad that one commentator on social media said the list was basically getting “nuked from orbit.”

JUST IN: The 'Endorsements' section on Eric Swalwell's campaign site has been removed and returns a 404 error. pic.twitter.com/sMndosxwWl

— Rob Pyers (@rpyers) April 10, 2026

Swalwell's endorsement page is getting nuked from orbit 😭 pic.twitter.com/FwiWWx4XQO

— Polling USA (@USA_Polling) April 11, 2026

Furthermore, Democrat after Democrat – including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York – were distancing themselves from Swalwell, calling for him to drop out of the race or withdrawing their endorsements publicly.

Statement on the Serious Accusations against Rep. Eric Swalwell. pic.twitter.com/9lkYqiCIGr

— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) April 11, 2026

In light of the recent allegations against Representative Eric Swalwell, I am withdrawing my endorsement of his campaign for Governor.

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) April 10, 2026

I’ve read the San Francisco Chronicle’s reporting and I take it seriously.

What is described is indefensible. Women who come forward with accounts like this deserve to be heard with respect, not questioned or dismissed.

I regret having come to his defense on social media prior…

— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) April 10, 2026

The multiple reports of sexual assault and misconduct by women staffers and others about Rep. Swalwell are detailed, disturbing, corroborated by contemporaneous accounts and all too compelling. These allegations are disqualifying in many ways. He should follow the advice of his…

— Jamie Raskin (@jamie_raskin) April 11, 2026

Meanwhile, left-wing influencers were busy patting themselves on the back, saying that they hold their own accountable -- implying, of course, that Republicans didn't when allegations of sexual misconduct were levied at Donald Trump.

I’m glad my party holds people accountable. Eric Swalwell should drop out and resign.

— Harry Sisson (@harryjsisson) April 11, 2026

And herein lies the ultimate problem with the Democratic narrative around Eric Swalwell: Nobody gets any credit when incredibly detailed allegations of abuse from, among other people, former Swalwell staffers, go public with indications that Swalwell had serious issues with sexual continence years ago, and indications that extended to abuse had been kicking around for some time, as well.

So, let’s pretend this episode exists in a vacuum. It doesn’t, but we can get to that later.

After rumors of sexual impropriety floated around social media in progressive circles for some time, Cheyenne Hunt -- a lawyer and activist with Gen-Z for Change -- went public earlier this week that she was working with a number of alleged victims about going public.

“Targeting employees, interns, and fans. Acting as a mentor just to exploit that power. DMs and Snapchat messages. Allegations ranging from uncomfortable comments to potentially criminal conduct,” Hunt wrote. “Other women needed to know that they were not alone and that someone had their backs if they came forward. After I spoke about my friend’s experience, many brave women came forward and shared their stories with me.”

“The number of credible women who have come forward since I posted my video is pretty shocking and connecting them with the investigative reporting teams who have been working on breaking this for years has greatly expedited this process. I am confident this story will break soon.”

There was mostly media silence on this outside of wonk-centric outlets, which treated the Swalwell team’s denials with more newsworthiness than the potential of serious allegations.

“This false, outrageous rumor is being spread 27 days before an election begins by flailing opponents who have sadly teamed up with MAGA conspiracy theorists because they know Eric Swalwell is the frontrunner in this race,” Swalwell spokesman Micah Beasley said to Politico in a statement.

However, there was significant movement on this story behind the scenes during the week -- including, it was reported, a cease-and-desist letter sent Thursday to the first woman to come forward, whose story was published in the San Francisco Chronicle.

This is the first page of the cease and desist letter from Swalwell's team - it has has been shared with permission from the recipient pic.twitter.com/Bv9mtVKvPf

— Cheyenne Hunt (@CheyenneHuntCA) April 10, 2026

The piece dropped Friday, in which the ex-staffer said that after she was hired in 2019, “Swalwell began pursuing her” and “messaged her on Snapchat, she said, sending images of his genitals and seeking nude pictures of her in return.”

“She said Swalwell, who is married and 17 years her senior, tried to kiss her in her car when she drove him home from a donor meeting one night. Driving him to another event weeks later, she said Swalwell pulled out his penis in the car and asked her to perform oral sex on him. She said she did so in a parking lot,” the San Francisco Chronicle’s reporting added.

“In September 2019, the woman said, Swalwell invited her out for drinks and she became so severely intoxicated that she does not remember the rest of the night. She said she woke up naked in Swalwell’s hotel bed and could feel the effect of vaginal intercourse. She said Swalwell distanced himself from her afterward and the relationship faded.”

This behavior continued, the accuser said, until 2024.

As if this were not problematic enough, CNN went public with more stories of Swalwell’s alleged improprieties:

Why do you suppose the left is only now feeding @ericswalwell to the wolves? pic.twitter.com/5zi4saei2h

— Phil Holloway ✈️ (@PhilHollowayEsq) April 10, 2026

In addition, Politico reported that one of the campaign’s biggest denials in the face of initial reporting -- namely, that no staffers had signed non-disclosure agreements about impropriety -- was false, as at least one former employee signed one regarding an employment discrimination claim.

As all of this was happening behind the scenes, do you know what these super-connected Democrats had to say about this?

Nothing. Not a word. Not unless you were running against Eric Swalwell for governor, that is.

That’s because he was the establishment choice in a cattle-car field; there was still hope he could ride it out and others could be pressured to drop out to avoid a scenario where two Republicans advance to the general gubernatorial election in California’s “jungle primary” system.

But now it’s Swalwell who’s the easiest to get out of the race. And note that they want him to get out of the race for governor -- not give up his seat in the House, where every Democrat vote counts:

You know the real reason why Democrats are calling for Eric Swalwell to drop out of the California governor’s race?

They know Republicans could win, with Democrats splitting their votes.

How do we know?

Democrats aren’t calling for Swalwell to resign from his House seat.

— 🇺🇸 Mike Davis 🇺🇸 (@mrddmia) April 11, 2026

And to resign from Congress, correct?

…..Correct? https://t.co/TSNU64TtOn

— Legal Phil (@Legal_Fil) April 11, 2026

In the meantime, it’s worth noting that this didn't happen in a vacuum -- because, before these past few weeks, we already knew Swalwell had issues involving his sexual conduct.

In 2020, Axios first reported that Swalwell had been linked to a Chinese spy who often slept with her targets. Swalwell was repeatedly asked whether or not he had slept with her and refused to answer.

Democrats refused to boot Swalwell from the House Intelligence Committee, which receives sensitive -- often top secret -- material in the wake of the revelations. They then pitched a fit in 2023 when the GOP took back the House and booted Swalwell along with two other Democrats, Rep. Adam Schiff of California and Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, for their own issues.

Swalwell and his allies painted this as “payback for investigating Donald Trump,” as then-Rep. Schiff said:

Kevin McCarthy just kicked me and @RepSwalwell off the Intelligence Committee.

This is petty, political payback for investigating Donald Trump.

If he thinks this will stop me, he will soon find out just how wrong he is.

I will always defend our democracy.

— Adam Schiff (@SenAdamSchiff) January 25, 2023

And again, nobody -- nobody -- seriously mentioned l’affaire Fang Fang in calling for Swalwell’s departure from the gubernatorial race. It was like it didn’t happen. And it was still that way up until Friday morning, five and a half years after the Axios piece dropped, alongside indications that Swalwell’s sexual appetites weren’t just a danger to his country but a danger to his party, as well. The fact that the latter seems more urgent than the former to liberals is telling in and of itself.

Every Democrat and left-bubble social media clown throwing their shoulders out by patting themselves on the back and telling themselves they hold their own accountable are simply deceiving themselves. If they were actually keeping their ranks pure, Eric Swalwell would have been out of Congress more than a half-decade ago. He’s still there, and you’re not calling for him to leave yet -- just to leave the governor’s race, where his exit would be awfully handy to ensure there isn’t a jungle-primary meltdown.

As your people are fond of saying at times like this, “we see you," and boy, can we ever.

Burney, police said, hit an 8-year-old girl with his car after revving his engine and speeding up while driving his vehicle in north Charlotte on March 28, according to a report from WSOC-TV.

She died after being transported to a local hospital.

And yet, until a charge of misdemeanor death by vehicle was added, Burney's bail was set at just $1,000 -- even though he had a revoked license and numerous other charges.

According to the Charlotte Observer, the young girl killed was named Nyomi Summers.

“When officers arrived on scene, they located a damaged bicycle and a seriously injured juvenile bicyclist in the roadway,” the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department said in a media release on March 29.

“They also located a 2006 Chrysler 300 sedan and its uninjured driver, Khaliyal Elijah Burney, 23, and a passenger. MEDIC responded to the scene and transported Summers to a local hospital where she was pronounced deceased.”

“The front left of the Chrysler struck the front of the bicycle, ejecting Summers into the roadway," the release added.

While Burney was not driving drunk or under the influence of drugs, police said, he was charged with driving while his license was revoked, no liability insurance, failure to register, and a fictitious registration.

And yet, until he was charged with the death of Summers, his bail was only $1,000, reports indicated:

Khaliyal Elijah Burney bonded out of the Meck County Detention Center a second time at just before 0100 Tuesday Morning.

His bond was raised from $1,000 unsecured to $20,000 secured after the additional charge of Misdemeanor Death by Vehicle was added.

His next court date is… pic.twitter.com/pFCbiESNZq

— Cedar Posts (@CedarPosts) April 2, 2026

Yes, an 8-year-old black girl's life was worth only $1,000, at one point. Now, just $20,000. But then, what should we expect from Charlotte?

Just a few days after this outrage, mind you, it was revealed that the man who was caught on video allegedly stabbing and killing a Ukrainian refugee woman on a Charlotte train was found incompetent to stand trial.

According to the New York Post, state prosecutors didn't object to a 180-day delay in the competency hearing of Decarlos Brown Jr., who stands accused of murdering 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska.

While the competency filing was made Dec. 29, the results were sealed until a court motion.

"If a judge agrees Brown is incompetent to stand trial, state law mandates the charges be dismissed. However, if the judge issues the ruling without prejudice, state murder charges could be refiled if he ever regains his capacity to be tried," the New York Post reported.

Thankfully, Brown still faces federal charges and remains in U.S. government custody. The parents of Nyomi Summers don't have that safety net of justice to fall back on.

They must, sadly, rely on the same system that initially gave their daughter's killer just $1,000 bail and will put off the trial of Decarlos Brown Jr., a man released numerous times despite his obvious unfitness for decent society. And people wonder why wokeness lost its appeal to Americans.

All week had been pretty bad, actually -- starting with rumblings that allegations of sexual misconduct were about to drop against him and that women hadn't come forward in some cases because they'd signed non-disclosure agreements. Swalwell's team denied these claims as “false, outrageous” smears and said no NDAs had been signed.

Then, on Friday, the dominoes began to fall. First came a San Francisco Chronicle piece, in which one ex-staffer accused Swalwell of sexually abusing her, taking advantage of the fact that she was too inebriated to consent on multiple occasions. She had corroborating evidence of this.

This was followed by a CNN report in which more women came forward telling similar stories of sexual misconduct, also with evidence to back it up.

And, to top it all off, Politico ran a story in which they revealed that even the NDA denial was a lie; at least one staffer had signed such a form to settle an employment discrimination claim.

Throughout the day, pretty much every elected Democratic official or organization who could distance themselves from Swalwell eventually did. This included his mentor and closest ally in California politics, Sen. Adam Schiff, who said that he was "withdrawing my endorsement immediately" and called on Swalwell to withdraw from the race.

I have read the San Francisco Chronicle’s account and I am deeply distressed by its allegations. This woman was brave to come forward, and we should take her story seriously.

I am withdrawing my endorsement immediately, and believe that he should withdraw from the race. https://t.co/tdXgfl0OAt

— Adam Schiff (@AdamSchiff) April 10, 2026

To cap Friday off, Swalwell issued a late-night denial video in which the man who once told America that we should "believe survivors" during the Brett Kavanaugh hearing -- where such so-called "survivors" had not a trace of the evidence Swalwell's accusers have -- said that we shouldn't believe his survivors.

In the one-minute video -- recorded, it appears, inside a hotel room with the curtains drawn, which isn't a good look when you consider how much of Swalwell's alleged sexual misconduct took place inside hotel rooms -- the representative used the "nobody's perfect" defense (which can usually be interpreted as "some sex happened while he was married, but it was totally consensual," although he's not going to tell you any of that directly) and said that the allegations that this conduct was coercive or abusive were lies.

"A lot has been said about me today through anonymous allegations," Swalwell began. (It's worth noting that this also quickly was proven false; while media sources don't generally identify alleged victims of sexual assault, one of the alleged victims and her husband were more than willing to come forward in the reply thread.)

"I thought it was important that you see and hear from me directly. These allegations of sexual assault are flat false. They are absolutely false," he continued.

"They did not happen. They have never happened. And I will fight them with everything that I have," he claimed, contending they were only emerging because it was "the eve of an election where I have been the frontrunner candidate for governor in California."

And then we got the non-denial denial about the fact that, yes, he had intimate relations with women who were not his wife while he was married: "I do not suggest to you in any way that I am perfect or that I'm a saint," he continued. "I have certainly made mistakes in judgment in my past."

However, he argued these were between him and his wife, not him and the voters of California who now had to decide whether or not strangely similar allegations of sexual misconduct should be disqualifying.

"I think you know who I am," said Swalwell, who has all but admitted to sleeping with a Chinese spy by refusing to deny it.

"For over 20 years I have served the public -- as a city councilman, as a member of Congress, and as a prosecutor who went to court on behalf of victims, particularly on behalf of sexual assault victims," he said. "That's who I am and have always been."

Hear it directly from me. These allegations are flat false. And I will fight them. pic.twitter.com/bQSlCquD1U

— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) April 11, 2026

This brings up a difficult question: Who do you believe? Eric Swalwell? Or, um, Eric Swalwell?

pic.twitter.com/dlqDolJM5g

— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) April 11, 2026

That's a toughie. Or maybe we should believe... Eric Swalwell, again?

2018. Eric Swalwell says that if Brett Kavanaugh is innocent of sexual assault, he should bring into his hearing all the people who have accused him so they can speak freely.

Swalwell also said that multiple accusers means Kavanaugh is most likely guilty.

Hey Swalwell, are you… pic.twitter.com/909Lwo9Vts

— MAZE (@mazemoore) April 6, 2026

As the social media refrain went throughout the afternoon and evening on Friday, Eric Swalwell is all about #MeToo until it's "me, too."

He effectively attempted to crucify Brett Kavanaugh and other Republicans on sexual abuse allegations so specious and evidence-free there wouldn't be a prosecutor who would touch them if they were within the statute of limitations.

But on Friday, we had multiple credible, recent, and evidence-backed allegations against Eric Swalwell -- who doesn't deny sexual conduct happened, and while he was married.

And these aren't Republican plants; notice he doesn't even try that feint. In the one instance where the alleged victim outed herself, both she and her husband were Democratic staffers with not-inconsiderable reputations in the political world.

These are people who have everything to lose and nothing to gain when you consider the fact that this leaves the Democratic establishment with the two top-polling candidates they didn't want to have to choose between: former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, who has personal issues of her own, and billionaire activist Tom Steyer, who has no experience in government. That makes it difficult to call this a Democratic op, as well. This is all Eric Swalwell.

And what's he saying? Believe all survivors, except those who allegedly survived me. Call me cynical, but I doubt that'll fly.

Washington’s Parks and Recreation department sponsored the taxpayer-funded two-night youth event after a series of so-called “teen takeovers” inundated the nation’s capital with violence over the past few weeks, prompting the creation of multiple juvenile curfew zones throughout the nation’s capital.

The Jam sought to give teenagers in the district a safe place to take part in sports, art, singing, dancing and other activities with friends, free of charge, with food provided, according to NBC 4 Washington.

The eight arrests outside the event took place on Saturday, its second day, between 8:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., the D.C.-based CBS affiliate WUSA reported. The juvenile delinquents ranged in age from 12 to 17 and were charged with an array of different offenses, including assault on law enforcement officers, resisting arrest and affray — or fighting in a public place.

Some teenagers wore masks and hoodies, despite the Jam’s guidelines explicitly preventing them.

However, hundreds of teenagers peacefully took part in the festivities inside King Greenleaf Recreation Center as the fights and subsequent arrests ensued outside, according to the WUSA.

One teenage participant told the outlet that the spurts of violence made it take longer for attendees to enter the Center, adding “Please stop fighting — y’all do too much.” Another cautioned, “Leave the drama at home — just vibe.”

Eyewitness Rikea Richardson told WUSA that observing the juvenile fights were “very concerning” for her “because I want to see my community do better. I want to see the kids do better.”

Looking for an engaging, fun, and safe activity for young people in Washington, DC this weekend?

Check out Teen Spring Jam at King-Greenleaf Rec—this Friday (4/3) and Saturday (4/4) from 6-10PM.

Register: https://t.co/mQtfTMvvfD pic.twitter.com/f7tU58PaJq

— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) April 2, 2026

“They [the teens] just jumped off the bikes and just start fighting,” resident Carol Muldrow told the outlet.

Democratic Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser promoted the Jam in a Thursday X post calling it “an engaging, fun, and safe activity for young people.”

D.C. Parks and Recreation Director Thennie Freeman said that the Jam gives teens “the opportunity to make the right decision,” DC News Now reported Friday, one day before the fights and arrests.

“We are now empowering our teens to make decisions that support their growth and well-being, and by offering them activities that are fun,” Freeman added.

The D.C. government did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

D.C. established five juvenile curfew zones in high traffic areas of the city on Friday that were enforced during Easter weekend. The King Greenleaf Recreation Center, where the Jam took place was located a few blocks outside of one of these zones.

Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) interim chief Jeffery Carroll said implementing curfews has been “a very effective tool when we use it,” noting they have “been a big mitigation factor to limit the number and the size of young people that are out in these areas,” WUSA reported.

Conservative Member of Parliament Dane Lloyd of Alberta questioned Minister of Public Safety Gary Anandasangaree about the apparent large-scale refusal to comply from gun owners.

“Minister, the declaration period for firearms owners is scheduled to end next week. So far, only 2.5 percent of the estimated two million effected firearms have been declared and 98 percent [of] firearms owners haven’t made a declaration,” Lloyd said.

“So, if they’re not declaring by next week, what’s your plan, Minister?”

YIKES: Gun Grab Gary @gary_srp says that he will send off-duty and retired cops to execute the Liberal gun grab, even if police of jurisdiction and provinces refuse to participate. pic.twitter.com/lnSsfVkuhS

— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) March 24, 2026

The legislation contained an Australia-style “buyback” of so-called “assault weapons” after Trudeau’s government banned over 2,500 types of modern semiautomatic firearms following a 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia.

“The plan we have is as of March 31st, the time to complete the enrollment, will be, will be done and then the RCMP and other agencies will be available throughout the spring and the summer to do the collection,” Anandasangaree responded, prompting Lloyd to ask, “So Minister, you’re saying that RCMP members, we just heard an Auditor General report saying we’re short 3400 members, we’re dealing with a wave of violent crime across this country, and you’re saying that your plan is over the spring and the summer to deploy RCMP officers to go door to door to firearms owners and seize their firearms?”

“The RCMP resources and the resources we will use with law enforcement, does not contemplate in any way using existing resources,” Anandasangaree replied.

“These are additional resources, so these are those who are off duty, those who may be retired, Quebec, for example, SC, for example, has their own, mechanism. But let me be very clear, it is in no way to take away from existing police resources.”

The National Rifle Association issued a statement denouncing the planned Canadian confiscation.

Remember this the next time they say it’s “not about confiscation.”

“Americans should take note that once they start down this road, they never stop at ‘reasonable’ restrictions. They keep coming until your rights are gone.” - NRA Director of Public Affairs @JustinDavis207 pic.twitter.com/5yoPn3bEGS

— NRA (@NRA) April 1, 2026

“Canadian officials swore up and down that their so-called ‘common-sense’ gun grab was only about public safety. We told you exactly where this was headed: mandatory registration and mass confiscation,” NRA Director of Public Affairs Justin Davis said in a statement posted on X.

“This should not be a surprise; the endgame for all gun-grabbers is always gun confiscation-every single time. Americans should take note that once they start down this road, they never stop at ‘reasonable’ restrictions. They keep coming until your rights are gone.”

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced plans for a mass confiscation of firearms in response to a December 2025 terrorist attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach that was inspired by the radical Islamic terrorist group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

Violent crime was a leading concern for voters in the 2024 presidential election, and the role of progressive policies has since drawn national attention. At a police memorial event in 2025, Vice President J.D. Vance condemned the agenda of “far-left prosecutors” backed by “faraway billionaires,” saying the administration has no tolerance for lawlessness.

Leftist DAs have frequently used their offices to push increasingly radical policies. Even NBC News has acknowledged a broadly shared agenda among these “left-leaning Democratic district attorneys.”

Among the most controversial jurisdictions is Travis County, Texas, where Democrat DA José Garza is facing calls to resign after it was revealed that his office may have held secret meetings with Austin officials in an attempt to indict a police officer over an incident more than five years old.

The Austin Democrat is also taking heat from Congress after an internal office memo revealed guidelines that his critics say “incentivize” repeat criminal offenses in the county. Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy, in a letter obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation, argues Travis County has become more “dangerous, unjust, and anarchic” since the progressive prosecutor took office in 2021, citing thousands of dismissed or rejected felony charges and rising crime.

Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner, widely considered one of the nation’s most radical prosecutors, has threatened to cuff Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who were deployed to airports amid the partial government shutdown.

Democrat Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano, who has a history of freeing repeat offenders, faced major backlash in March for the release of criminal illegal alien Abdul Jalloh — a move that led to the murder of a Virginia mother.

The list goes on, and they all have one thing in common: a shared donor network directing prosecutorial policy across the country.

Garza reported $548,225 in political contributions throughout the 2020 election cycle in which he won office, including over $400,000 from the Texas arm of the national Justice & Public Safety PAC, which has backed multiple progressive prosecutors across the country.

Descano received $601,153 from the same committee in 2019. Although Krasner did not directly receive money from the PAC, its Philadelphia branch spent over $1.7 million campaigning for him in 2017, according to campaign finance reports. In those years, billionaire leftist donor George Soros donated a combined total of $7,807,863 to the Justice & Public Safety PAC.

In addition to funding, the prosecutors received “communications” support from the Wren Collective, a leftist consulting firm offering “fee-free” services for “elected officials, grassroots advocates, and other allies,” according to a 2025 report by the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund. Garza’s office entered a non-disclosure agreement with the organization in 2022; Krasner’s office listed Wren Collective founder Jessica Brand as its official media contact and paid the firm as a campaign advisor; Descano’s team worked with the Wren Collective to “sketch out a policy and communications strategy” for his second term in office.

“Wren is proud to help reform prosecutors implement evidence-based policies to reduce crime and improve community safety. No matter how hard elected officials work, every large company or organization in every line of work needs outside support to fulfill its critical mission,” a spokesperson for the Wren Collective told the DCNF.

“So, whether it’s Wren, Lexipol, the National District Attorneys Association, Accenture, Heritage, or any of the hundreds of consultant firms and non-profit organizations, prosecutor offices need support to do their vital work of keeping our streets safe.”

Founded in 2020 as an independent entity, the Wren Collective later became a project of the Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs (SEE), a leftist donor conglomerate deeply entangled with organizations in the broader Soros network.

In 2025, Wren moved to split off from SEE and become an independent 501(c)3 organization, obtaining tax-exempt status in December.

According to Influence Watch, SEE was originally founded in 1987 as the “American-Soviet Film Initiative” to “promote educational and cultural exchanges among citizens of the U.S. and citizens of the then-Soviet Union through films and television programs.”

The organization’s website states that it works to “empower, encourage and catalyze individuals to facilitate progressive change in areas of social justice and ecological restoration.” The website adds that the projects SEE fiscally sponsors “provide long-term cultural transformation to create a more socially just and environmentally sustainable world.”

Soros’ Open Society Foundations (OSF) network gave SEE $7,632,740 between 2017 and 2023 through the Foundation to Promote Open Society (FPOS), one of the network’s grantmaking entities. According to the organization’s tax filings, SEE also gave $760,220 to the FPOS in 2024. The organization also fiscally sponsors groups promoting leftist viewpoints on prostitution, gun violence, and incarceration through OSF grants.

An OSF spokesman told the DCNF, “We are proud to support justice, human rights, and equity for communities across the country, and to advocate for a justice system that is fair and treats everyone equally.”

The spokesman also said the “grants we provided to organizations through SEE as a fiscal sponsor were earmarked for specific projects” and “cannot be redirected by the fiscal sponsor to support other projects.”

The Soros network is not SEE’s only source of funding. Tax filings show that the organization received $28,075,334 in taxpayer dollars between 2014 and 2024 through federal funding. The Biden administration supplied a majority of the grants, totaling $25,211,801 between 2021 and 2024.

The Biden-era Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) obligated even more money to the organization. Government spending records show that the agency obligated a stunning $63,000,000 to SEE, intended to be redistributed in at least 197 “subaward agreements.”

The DCNF did not receive a response from SEE, Garza, Descano, or Krasner for a comment.

In 2019, NBC News reported on a “new wave of progressive DAs” taking the reins across the country. The story warned that prosecutors were “shaking up the criminal justice system,” pointing to Krasner and former Suffolk County DA Rachael Rollins as prime examples of the then- new trend.

Leftist prosecutors have since seen pushback in the form of lost elections and recalls in several jurisdictions. Former Alameda County DA Pamela Price was recalled in 2024 after allegedly facilitating rising crime in the county. Former Los Angeles County DA George Gascón, who seemed to stand by as property crime skyrocketed, also decisively lost his 2024 reelection bid.

President Donald Trump issued an executive order within hours of taking office on Jan. 20, 2025, mandating an end to DEI efforts in the federal government.

Jeffries told attendees of the National Action Network annual convention that DEI was mandated by the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.

“No matter what these extremists are trying to do with their all-out assault on civil rights, on voting rights, certainly on diversity, equity and inclusion — and we won’t let these extremists get away with lying to the American people,” the New York Democrat maintained.

“They want to suggest that diversity, equity, and inclusion are foreign values. They’re not foreign values, they’re American values.”

“Let’s just check the record. The motto of this great country, ‘E pluribus unum,’ that’s the motto of this great country, ‘Out of many, one.’ That’s diversity,” Jeffries continued.

“One of the most important constitutional amendments in this country, a Reconstruction amendment, the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, contains the Equal Protection Clause. And the Equal Protection Clause in the 14th Amendment promises equal protection under the law. That’s equity.”

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced his department would scrap racial and gender quotas for promotions in a Sept. 30 speech to assembled general and flag officers.

Hegseth also said that there would only be one combat fitness standard that all troops serving in combat roles would be required to meet.

“And all across this country, from sea to shining sea, in the land of the free and the home of the brave, when people say the Pledge of Allegiance, they pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. That’s inclusion,” Jeffries said.

“So, diversity, equity, and inclusion — we’re teaching the extremists something — these aren’t foreign values, these are American values. And when you attack diversity, equity, and inclusion, you attack the United States of America.”

“We have the high ground on this issue, which is why I’m so thankful that Reverend Sharpton and the National Action Network continues to lean in,” Jeffries added.

Citing the 14th Amendment, the Supreme Court struck down admission policies at the University of North Carolina and Harvard that took race into account, with a 6-3 ruling in the case of North Carolina and a 6-2 ruling in the case of Harvard in June 2023.

The arch, which will sit across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial, will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the nation's founding.

"The drawings were submitted to the Commission of Fine Arts, a federal design panel that President Trump has stacked with allies. It will consider the project’s design at its meeting next week," The New York Times reported.

🚨 BREAKING: BEAUTIFUL new renderings released of President Trump's upcoming triumphal ARCH in Washington DC

This is going to be incredible 🔥

Look at the gold! Liberals are going to lose it 🤣 pic.twitter.com/tnjVNmMAfB

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 10, 2026

According to the plans, the white marble arch will have a winged golden Lady Liberty statue on top, flanked by two bald eagles, also gold in color.

The arch will have the words "One Nation Under God" inscribed near the top.

Trump displayed a model of the proposed arch at a White House fundraising dinner in October, along with his plans for a $400 million ballroom.

President Trump has unveiled model of triumphal arch to business titans at White House ballroom fundraiser. https://t.co/LNWCzIkEE4

— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 16, 2025

It appeared to have been modeled after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, which was commissioned by Napoleon to commemorate the victories of the French armies.

The Times noted, "Mr. Trump has taken a number of actions to remake Washington in his image and remodel the White House, including covering the Oval Office in gold and paving the grass of the Rose Garden. The president is also planning a National Garden of American Heroes with 250 statues."

"But the most dramatic step was his sudden demolition last fall of the White House’s East Wing to make way for his planned 90,000-square-foot ballroom," the outlet added.

Late last month, a federal judge ruled that construction of the ballroom needed to halt until Trump could obtain congressional approval.

"[U]nless and until Congress blesses this project through statutory authorization, construction has to stop! But here is the good news. It is not too late for Congress to authorize the continued construction of the ballroom project,” U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, a George W. Bush appointee, held.

“The President may at any time go to Congress to obtain express authority to construct a ballroom and to do so with private funds,” the judge added.

When he announced the project last fall, Trump said it would be privately funded.

BREAKING: @PressSec announces the construction of a new 90,000 sq ft ballroom at the White House — with construction to begin in September.

Visit https://t.co/Nq7Vqlw3HO for more. pic.twitter.com/XadWWxOGON

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 31, 2025

The Commission of Fine Arts approved the ballroom on Feb. 19, and the National Capital Planning Commission followed suit last week.

A day before the judge's ruling, Trump pointed out that the military is constructing a “massive complex” under the new ballroom.

BELOW THE SURFACE: President Trump reveals the U.S. military is building a "massive complex" beneath the planned, privately-funded White House ballroom, and that construction is "ahead of schedule." pic.twitter.com/VDbepFqox8

— Fox News (@FoxNews) March 30, 2026

“The ballroom essentially becomes a shed for what’s being built [by] the military, including from drones and including from any other thing,” he said.

The Trump administration has appealed Leon's ruling.

Controversial Twitch streamer Hasan Piker has become an influential figure on the left, with a growing role in midterm politics and potential sway over the 2028 presidential race, according to Politico.

While many Democrats have embraced his reach, others have raised concerns about his antisemitic comments and the risk his rhetoric poses to the party. When Welker raised those concerns Sunday, however, Khanna defended Piker.

“I do want to ask you, here we are in the midst of the midterms, you’re someone who’s been quite outspoken. You have made several appearances on a show hosted by socialist commentator Hasan Piker. Some of your fellow Democrats, though, have raised alarms about his views. Here are two members of a left-leaning think tank,” Welker said.

“This is how they put it. They wrote, ‘No left-wing agitator is more influential and extreme than Twitch streamer Hasan Piker. He’s referred to ultra-Orthodox Jews as inbred, employed anti-Semitic dog whistles (blood-thirsty, violent pig dog) against an anti-Hamas viewer of his stream, compared liberal Zionists to liberal Nazis and said Hamas is 1,000 times better than the Israeli state.'”

“Now, Hasan Piker says some of his comments have been taken out of context, but he largely stands by them. Do you have any regrets about appearing on his show?” Welker asked, with Khanna responding, “None. And I would go again.”

Vice President J.D. Vance criticized Piker for his reported use of a shock collar on his dog during an October 2025 livestream.

Streamers and Reddit users unearthed multiple instances of Piker seemingly using the device or the threat of activating the device to keep his dog Kaya sitting in a more photogenic location during his live streams.

Suspicions that Piker was using the device were sparked when Kaya yelped during one of Piker’s livestreams.

Shock collars can cause dogs to suffer from stress and anxiety while also leading them to engage in less desirable behavior and aggression, according to Dogster.com.

“He’s been using a shock collar on a setting so high that his dog F*****G SCREAMS when he uses it,” Tectone, a fellow streamer, said in an Oct. 7 post on X.

The lawsuit has many unkind words for the drink, but the suit is aimed at Glazer’s Beer and Beverage and Glazer’s Beer and Beverage of Texas, according to NBC News.

Benny Agosto Jr., the attorney for the family, said the distributor was being sued because “they’re the ones that receive it, distribute it and put it all over the place, and they also fail to give any warnings.”

He said it is possible that Celsius Inc., which makes the product, could be added to the suit, which seeks damages in excess of $1 million.

The cause of the 17-year-old’s death “was an enlarged heart due to stress and large amounts of caffeine,” Agosto said.

Agosto said tests were performed on Rodriguez after her death and “everything was negative, not one trace of alcohol or anything. The only thing she had in her system was caffeine.”

Agosto said that Rodriguez was “full of life, full of love, smart, academic and with a bright future” and that she was an active teenager who played tennis and was a cheerleader.

“Her life was cut short,” he said.

Celsius Inc. said it was “saddened by this loss, and our thoughts are with the family."

"We take product safety seriously and believe consumers should have clear information about what they are drinking," the company added.

“Alani Nu energy drinks disclose 200mg of caffeine on the can, and the label states the product is not recommended for children, people sensitive to caffeine, pregnant women, or women who are nursing,” the statement said. “Our products comply with applicable federal labeling requirements, and our policy is not to market or sample to anyone under 18, consistent with those label warnings.”

Agosto said that Rodriguez often consumed Alani Nu.

Texas beauty queen's death at 17 blamed on influencer's 'unreasonably dangerous' energy drink: lawsuit https://t.co/YDyQa1vN3n pic.twitter.com/dEZtjdrrXR

— New York Post (@nypost) April 10, 2026

“It was very common for her to get up in the morning, go to school and have an Alani or be in sports activities and have an Alani,” Agosto said. “We have pictures and videos of her playing sports and her and her classmates, as well as other friends, drinking Alani or other energy drinks.”

In 2023, Canada issued a recall for the drink, citing a lack of compliance with caffeine content and labeling.

Rodriguez died on Oct. 20 after consuming a drink, according to the New York Post.

“The Alani Nu Energy Drink was designed and formulated such that it could cause cardiomyopathy, cardiac arrhythmia, cardiac arrest, and death in consumers, especially children, adolescents, and caffeine-sensitive individuals,” the family said in its suit.

The lawsuit said a can of the drink “does not warn against excessive caffeine consumption.”

“The only cautionary language on the can is printed in small, inconspicuous text that is easily overlooked and wholly inadequate to warn consumers of the serious risks of cardiac injury and death,” the lawsuit said.

“It was defective in its design, unreasonably dangerous, and unsafe for its intended purpose because it did not provide adequate protection and/or warning against the foreseeable risk of cardiac-related injuries and death,” the lawsuit added.

“Alani Nu’s marketing is particularly deceptive because it positions the product as part of a healthy, active lifestyle while concealing the substantial cardiac and neurological risks associated with its concentrated caffeine and stimulant ingredients."

Khatibzadeh admitted in the interview with ITV that the Iranian regime has laid naval mines in the strait. These mines will have to be cleared after the conflict is resolved, which can be expensive and dangerous.

“Anybody who communicates with the Iranian authority has got permission to pass,” Khatibzadeh said in the ITV interview.

Khatibzadeh explained in the interview that the Iranian regime will have to guide vessels through the strait for the foreseeable future. Tehran told mediators that it would limit passage to only 12 ships per day, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Iran plans to impose a transit toll of $1/barrel payable in Chinese yuan or cryptocurrency, according to the Financial Times.

Iran may have as many as 2,000 to 6,000 mines, according to statements provided by U.S. officials to CBS News. Declassified CIA documents from 1984 state that the Iranians may have mines with explosive payloads larger than 1100 pounds (500 kilograms). Explosive charges of this size have the power to cripple or even sink large vessels.

“I have all the reasons to be skeptical regarding the intention of the other side, but more than that, as we are seeing, Israelis are violating, the grave violation is happening right now in Lebanon, yesterday was a massacre,” Khatibzadeh said in the ITV interview. 

Israeli strikes in Lebanon on Wednesday resulted in 89 deaths and more than 700 people wounded, according to a statement that Lebanon’s health ministry provided to Reuters.

The Israel Defense Forces stated in an X post that they successfully killed Lebanese Resistance Brigade leader Maher Qassem Hamdan.

The brigades are an irregular militia composed of Christians, Sunni and Shia Muslims, according to reporting by the International Business Times from 2015.

“Renewed aggression by the Zionist regime against Lebanon blatantly violates the initial ceasefire,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a post on X.

“I think ​this comes from a legitimate misunderstanding. I ⁠think the Iranians thought that the ​ceasefire included Lebanon, and it just didn’t,” Vice President J.D. Vance told reporters in Budapest, according to reporting by Reuters.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel is seeking to begin negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible in a Government Press Office statement translated from Hebrew.

It remains unclear whether the current ceasefire will last. The ceasefire is slated to remain in place until April 22.

“The negotiations will focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing ​peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon,” Netanyahu stated. Lebanon has not indicated whether it will participate in peace talks.

Conflict between Israel and Lebanon includes first-person-view drones from Hezbollah being sent far past the front line and into Israel proper. The IDF recently seized a cache of Hezbollah’s FPV drones, according to reporting by The Times of Israel.

“What we said is that the ceasefire would be focused on Iran, and the ceasefire would be focused on America’s allies, both Israel and the Gulf Arab states,” Vice President J.D. Vance told reporters in Budapest.

The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Escanaba seized 4,510 pounds of cocaine, worth $33.9 million, while on an Easter Sunday patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, according to a Department of Homeland Security news release.

A U.S. patrol aircraft alerted the Escanaba after it spotted a suspected narco-terrorist vessel, and the crew started throwing suspected contraband overboard.

Keeping Americans SAFE.

On Easter Sunday, the @USCG Cutter Escanaba seized more than 4,510 pounds of cocaine worth $33.9 MILLION during a routine patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

Thank you to these heroes for saving American lives by keeping these deadly drugs out of our…

— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) April 9, 2026

An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter was launched after the contact off the coast of Ecuador.

The release said that the cutter “deployed its over-the-horizon cutter pursuit boat crew and relaunched the helicopter aircrew to recover the contraband.”

The action was part of Operation Pacific Viper.

Sustained impact through Operation Pacific Viper. @USCG Cutter Escanaba and its embarked helicopter team located and recovered a floating bale field Sunday in the Eastern Pacific, seizing over 4,500 lbs of cocaine valued at nearly $34M. That’s 1.7M potentially lethal doses that… pic.twitter.com/3tbMAnLlj4

— U.S. Coast Guard (@USCG) April 10, 2026

A 2025 news release noted that “Operation Pacific Viper is part of a wider effort ordered by President Trump to combat foreign drug cartels in Latin America.”

During the ongoing operations, “the men and women of the Coast Guard will continue deploying overwhelming force against the cartels, cutting off the flow of drugs into the United States and put an end to the cartel’s reign of terror,” the release said.

The release noted that the first 19 operations netted a total of illegal drugs worth $473 million, including 61,740 pounds of cocaine and about 14,400 pounds of marijuana.

After the most recent seizure, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said that “Operation Pacific Viper plays a central part of President Trump’s fight against the cartels at sea, cutting off their ability to make money by trafficking their poison into our country."

“This operation has already seized over 215,000 pounds of cocaine and has arrested over 160 suspected narco-traffickers. The brave men and women of the Coast Guard are saving American lives by keeping these deadly drugs out of our communities and off our streets,” he added.

The release said that the Coast Guard “has surged cutters, aircraft, and tactical teams to interdict, seize, and disrupt the flow of cocaine and other illicit drugs."

"These efforts are a critical part of the Trump administration’s strategy to fight narco-terrorism and dismantle transnational criminal organizations," the release said.

Through Operation Pacific Viper, the Coast Guard has taken in 215,000 pounds of cocaine and detained 160 suspected narco-traffickers.

In one November 2025 seizure, the Coast Guard cutter Stone offloaded more than 49,000 pounds of illicit drugs worth $362 million.

Trump first reacted to a “Fox News Sunday” interview with Massachusetts Democrat Rep. Jake Auchincloss, accusing anchor Shannon Bream of never correcting Democrats when they spread “propaganda and lies” on her show.

He then slammed co-host of “The Five” Jessica Tarlov, who is also a liberal panelist on the Sunday show, to be taken off the air for being “a real loser.”

“Tell Shannon Bream of FoxNews that it’s not the Save Act, it’s the Save America Act, a big difference! Also, when she insists on having lightweight Democrat Congressmen, such as Jake Auchincloss, on her not very hard hitting show, she should correct them when they spew out Democrat propaganda and lies. She never does! I always close deals, unlike the Dems, and did great with China in every way, also, unlike the Dems!” Trump said.

“For Fox executives only, take Jessica Tarlov off the air. She is, from her voice, to her lies, and everything else about her, one of the worst 'personalities' on television, a real loser! People cannot stand watching her. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump continued.

Auchincloss told Bream on “Fox News Sunday” that the war in Iran has been a “failure” and has given Iran leverage through its control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump has criticized Fox News in the past, particularly after its early projection that former President Joe Biden would win Arizona in the 2020 election.

He told “The Five” in March that he was not a fan of Tarlov, who frequently criticizes Trump on-air, and said the show would be better without her.

“I watch Jessica, and I’m not a fan,” Trump said.

“And she uses fake numbers. She’ll give, ‘Well, he’s only polling 42 percent.’ That’s not right. Polling very high, actually.”

He went on to blast “bad journalists” who write “fake stories,” adding, “I’m sure I’d like her. I’m sure she’s a lovely person.”

Sotomayor made controversial remarks while she was speaking at an event hosted by the University of Kansas School of Law on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg Law.

While the 71-year-old Sotomayor didn't mention any of her fellow justices by name, it was clear that she was speaking about Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

“I had a colleague in that case who wrote, you know, these are only temporary stops,” Sotomayor said.

That was a clear reference to when the justices paused lower courts trying to block Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from working, with a concurrence written by Kavanaugh.

Sotomayor then jabbed Kavanaugh's upbringing, questioning whether or not her fellow justice knew anything about blue-collar woes.

“This is from a man whose parents were professionals," she said. "And probably doesn’t really know any person who works by the hour.”

At the time, Kavanaugh argued that precautionary detentions would be short and uneventful.

Sotomayor contended Tuesday that for hourly workers, even a temporary detainment could have consequences.

“Those hours that they took you away, nobody’s paying that person,” she said. “And that makes a difference between a meal for him and his kids that night and maybe just cold supper.”

Sotomayor didn't hold back in September, either.

As the New York Post noted, Sotomayor was part of an incensed dissent that included: "We should not have to live in a country where the government can seize anyone who looks Latino, speaks Spanish, and appears to work a low wage job."

While Sotomayor never named Kavanaugh, the thinly veiled shot could make for an awkward meeting at the Supreme Court.

Historically speaking, there's always been a level of decorum and respect the justices publicly show each other, even when they're on opposite ends of the ideological spectrum, with longstanding traditions like the "judicial handshake" still in effect today.

(Think of the deep, warm, and respectful friendship between conservative Justice Clarence Thomas and late former liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.)

Lately, however, that traditional decorum appears to have curdled into something a tad more bitter -- oddly enough, all involving the most junior justice.

In her majority opinion for the Supreme Court nuking universal injunctions, Amy Coney Barrett also juked Kentanji Brown Jackson from orbit.

“We will not dwell on Justice Jackson’s argument, which is at odds with more than two centuries worth of precedent, not to mention the… pic.twitter.com/je6FsoXxCi

— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) June 27, 2025

Kavanaugh had to defend himself when he attended a March event where ultra-progressive Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, also at the event, began to publicly chide him.

But even beyond Jackson's feuds with the conservative justices, she also appears to have drawn some ire from her fellow female liberal justices.

Vance said during a press conference in Hungary that he will continue to pray that God is on the U.S.’ side of the war since they are trying to prevent Iran from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon.

“There’s been some rhetoric from your administration about this war, about God supporting the United States and this war and the strikes against Iran being part of God’s will. Do you agree with that and what do you make of the idea that God is on the side of the U.S. and these strikes?” a reporter for The Washington Post asked.

“I think my attitude towards military conflict has always been to pray that we are on God’s side and my own view is we are doing this for the right reasons. We’re doing this because we don’t want a regime that has committed acts of terrorism to have the world’s most dangerous weapon,” Vance said.

“Because that would mean a lot of innocent people [would be] dead. I certainly hope that God agrees with the decision that Iran shouldn’t have a nuclear weapon, but I’ll keep praying about it, and if He gives me a good answer, you’ll be the first to know, Natalie.” 

The U.S. launched strikes on more than 50 military targets on Kharg Island on Tuesday, which happened right before Trump’s 8 p.m. deadline to reach a deal on ending the war.

This action took place while Iranian officials continue to take control of the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil export hub, and caused gas prices in the U.S. to surge by 35 percent since the start of the conflict on Feb. 28.

The reporter also asked Vance whether a deal could be reached by the deadline. Vance said Iran could either agree to end the war and stop committing terrorism, or they can suffer serious consequences.

“If the Iranians don’t come to the table, and they stay committed to terrorism [and] to terrorizing their neighbors, not just Israel, but of course their Arab neighbors too, then the economic situation in Iran is going to continue to be very, very bad and frankly will probably get worse,” Vance said.

“And so, what the president has asked his entire team to do, particularly Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, is to figure out what are the contours of a potential deal. What are they willing to do? Because militarily, it frankly doesn’t matter one way or the other to us, it’s fundamentally a question of what does this look like afterwards and that’s what the negotiations have been focused on.”

Trump warned Tuesday that “a whole civilization will die” because Iran is unlikely to negotiate with the U.S. and reopen the Strait of Hormuz by the deadline. A reporter also asked Trump during a Monday briefing whether God is on his side in the war.

“I do, because God is good,” Trump said.

“Because God is good and God wants to see people taken care of. God doesn’t like what’s happening. I don’t like what’s happening. Everyone says, I enjoy, I don’t enjoy this. I don’t enjoy it.”

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has been under a searing microscope of late, largely due to some of the less-than-flattering reporting from The Baltimore Sun.

The outlet has been ramping up the pressure on Moore, looking into inconsistencies in the 47-year-old's past claims about his military service.

While Moore had previously been relatively mum on the matter, that abruptly changed on Tuesday, when Moore addressed The Baltimore Sun's reporting directly during an MS Now appearance with former Biden White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.

And, perhaps unsurprisingly, this is all the fault of President Donald Trump, according to Moore.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore responds to the larger context of the Baltimore Sun's investigation into his military service. Since 2024, the paper's owner is a Trump ally named David Smith, who is the executive chairman of Sinclair Broadcast Group. https://t.co/VIFBvicU1J pic.twitter.com/gjfx0orad8

— The Briefing with Jen Psaki (@PsakiBriefing) April 8, 2026

Instead of broaching the actual substance of the investigation, Psaki and Moore were quick to pivot the conversation to the fact that The Baltimore Sun had recently been purchased by Sinclair Broadcast Group -- a media titan that's actually somewhat friendly with Trump.

This fact is apparently so disqualifying and so offensive that Moore told Psaki that he doesn't consider The Baltimore Sun to be Maryland's paper of record anymore.

"The Baltimore Sun used to be our paper of record," Moore said. "It's now become the paper of the right wing."

Moore's press secretary, Ammar Moussa, echoed his boss' sentiments on X, calling the questions into the governor's past "faux-journalism."

We learned this weekend that Donald Trump's friend and ally, billionaire David Smith, is directing Sinclair's faux-journalism on Democrats in Maryland.

They don't deserve to be treated like a news outlet and nothing that comes out of Sinclair should be taken seriously. https://t.co/KQXcfAKqj3

— Ammar Moussa (@ammarmufasa) April 6, 2026

But while Moore and his allies can take all the shots at the media that they want, The Baltimore Sun isn't the only outlet looking into the Maryland governor's allegedly checkered past.

The Washington Free Beacon has also been covering this story, as has Spotlight on Maryland.

Alarmingly, Moore and his team don't exactly have their hands clean in this roiling feud with The Baltimore Sun.

According to the Washington Free Beacon, Moore's team threatened to tank the reputation of The Baltimore Sun, and followed through with that by publishing private communications between Moore's team and the outlet's reporters.

The outlet also reported that Moore defended his military record -- while again blaming Trump.

"The United States Army doesn't question my integrity. The soldiers I served with don't question my integrity," Moore told Psaki. "But we are seeing how the right wing and these right-wing billionaires like David Smith is then using his wealth to be able to manipulate local media."

He also claimed that "they're doing it to curry favor with Donald Trump."

Speaking with far-left CNN’s “The Situation Room” Thursday, Greene claimed that Trump has proven himself mentally unstable by warning that a "civilization" would be destroyed if Iran did not agree to the U.S.’s terms to end the war.

The former congresswoman joined a small group of disgruntled "conservatives," anti-right-wing libertarians, and anti-Trump liberals, and Democrats in their calls for Trump to be forcibly removed from office, arguing he is unfit to serve and that his comments were "genocidal."

The majority of the president's supporters argue that Trump's comments were directly squarely at the IRGC and it's leaders, especially given his recently history of supporting, defending, and advocating for the Iranian people -- especially regime dissidents.

“25TH AMENDMENT!! Not a single bomb has dropped on America. We cannot kill an entire civilization,” Greene first wrote in a Tuesday post on X. “This is evil and madness.”

25TH AMENDMENT!!!
Not a single bomb has dropped on America. We cannot kill an entire civilization.
This is evil and madness. pic.twitter.com/2mdogDRZN4

— Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@FmrRepMTG) April 7, 2026

Greene said Thursday that Trump’s threat shows he is mentally unstable.

“It’s absolute madness. How can any person that is mentally stable call for an entire civilization of people to be murdered, to be wiped out, to never come back again? That’s what the president called for,” Greene told left-wing CNN.

“And that shows that there’s serious instability in his thinking that he would not only would he even say that in a private room, perhaps with his advisors, but actually go to his megaphone, his Truth Social, and post that for the entire country and the entire world.

“And this is unreal. This should never be tolerated,” Greene continued.

Trump postponed the planned attack once Iran agreed to a two-week conditional ceasefire by the 8 p.m. deadline on Tuesday (negotiations progressed following the very same strongly-worded warning from Trump that Greene chastised) which included the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil export waterway.

The ceasefire was put to the test after Israel launched deadly attacks on Lebanon, which caused Iranians to once again close the waterway.

The warning by Trump caused a small group of online right wing voices to call on Trump to be forcefully removed from office, including “Infowars” host Alex Jones (a noted conspiracy theorist who lost a $1.4 billion defamation case over claiming the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting was a hoax and that the parents of the children murdered were actors), who called on Congress to invoke the 25th Amendment on Trump.

Podcaster Candace Owens (who has spent much of the last year blaming Trump, Israel, and Erika Kirk for the murder of Charlie Kirk) said the 25th Amendment must be invoked because Trump is a “genocidal lunatic.”

Former Republican Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh -- now a registered Democrat -- former White House counsel Ty Cobb and The American Conservative founding editor Scott McConnell also urged Congress to invoke the 25th Amendment.

Daily Caller News Foundation co-founder Tucker Carlson -- a frequent critic of military action against Iran and it's terror proxies in the Middle East -- said on “The Tucker Carlson Show” that Trump’s military aides should refuse to slaughter Iranian civilians even though the U.S. has directed attacks at military targets.

Greene’s once close relationship with Trump was torn apart after she aggressively broke with Trump for striking Iran in June 2025 -- often referring to conspiracy theories indicating undue Israeli influence in Trump's decision making -- and called for the full release of the files surrounding disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

In fact, as she has repeatedly demonstrated, Harris only does comedy of the unintentional kind.

Speaking to an audience Friday at the Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network convention, the former vice president gave an impression of President Donald Trump so nonsensical and bizarre that one civil-rights attorney called her "a national embarrassment."

"The way that he's thinking of foreign policy, it seems," Harris said in a clip posted to the social media platform X, "is when he talks about America first, it's to withdraw from these relationships and these connections."

Since the former vice president doesn't actually know anything about foreign policy, she quickly moved on to lame humor.

"And then he kinda, Rev, acts like a mob boss," she added.

For what followed, imagine the classic "Seinfeld" scene in which Elaine Benes made everyone uncomfortable with her awful dancing.

As you can see from the YouTube video below, Elaine, played by actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, thought she could dance and really got into it. With obvious enthusiasm, she gave it her best shot.

In a similar manner, Harris apparently thought she could do a good impression of Trump as a mob boss. The former vice president really got into it, only to leave us clutching our champagne glasses and trying not to look.

"So then, he's kinda like, 'Well, you know, you take Eastern Europe,'" Harris continued. "And I'll take the Western Hemisphere, and then you over there, you get Asia, and we'll just divide it up."

No written words could adequately convey the cringeworthy awfulness of Harris' performance.

"She is a National embarrassment!" civil-rights attorney Leo Terrell wrote on X.

She is a National embarrassment! She lied about working at McDonald’s. She failed the California State Bar Exam! https://t.co/IIUUHIjotw

— LeoTerrell (@TheLeoTerrell) April 10, 2026

"A national embarrassment" pretty well summarizes it, though it does not explain Harris' ill-advised attempt at comedy.

For that, perhaps we should consider the possibility that she thought it through beforehand and concluded that a terrible impression of Trump, delivered via a terrible mob-boss accent, would distract the audience from her trademark word salads.

Either way, simply by appearing at Sharpton's convention, Harris signaled that she might run for president again in 2028.

Republicans, of course, would sign up for that in a heartbeat.

Moreover, Americans who find themselves desperately in need of laughs would encourage the former vice president in her delusional endeavor. If she thinks her cackling act would survive an actual Democratic primary, then more power to her.

In the meantime, no doubt she will continue to give us regular doses of unintentional comedy.

New York Times White House correspondent Zolan Kanno-Youngs asked Trump whether he is concerned about potentially committing war crimes if he follows through with his threats to bomb nuclear power plants in Iran.

Trump mocked and dismissed the outlet as inconsequential before adding that he has no such concerns about violating war crimes in Iran.

“Who are you with?” Trump asked. “Oh, the failing New York Times. The circulation is way down at The New York Times.”

When Trump attempted to move on to another reporter, Kanno-Youngs shouted out that the threatened acts could violate international law.

Trump then continued to lay into the outlet.

“Quiet, quiet. You no longer have credibility at The New York Times,” Trump told Kanno-Youngs.

“Because The New York Times said, ‘oh, Trump won’t win the election’ and I won in a landslide. I won every swing state. The New York Times said, ‘oh, Trump won’t win the election.’ The New York Times has no credibility. The credibility that they have used to be all the news that’s fit to print. The old, grey lady. It was great, but they’re running on past fumes and you can’t keep doing that. You have to be able to give the correct news and people like you, who I know, are fake. You’re fake.”

Trump threatened to obliterate Iran’s power plants and bridges if Iran and the U.S. fail to reach an agreement on ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

In his comments to Kanno-Youngs, Trump said he hopes he does not have to bomb nuclear power plants and bridges, but explained he’s working to ensure Iran never has access to nuclear weapons.

“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!!” Trump posted on Easter Sunday.

“Open the... Strait... or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.”

The U.S. and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28 in a joint effort to strike Iran.

The administration said they have been in talks with Iranian officials to negotiate an end to the war, which Iranian officials have repeatedly denied.

However, he refused to call on Swalwell to resign from his House seat or any of his committee assignments in the wake of the accusations.

“Following the incredibly disturbing sexual assault allegations against Congressman Eric Swalwell, we call for a swift investigation into these incidents and for the Congressman to immediately end his campaign to be California’s next Governor,” Jeffries’ statement Friday night read.

“This is unacceptable of anyone -- certainly not an elected official -- and must be taken seriously,” he added.

Jeffries went on to say that “we commend the courageous women for sharing their experiences."

“In this and all circumstances, we must ensure that those who come forward with allegations of sexual assault and harassment are heard and respected,” he continued. “All perpetrators of sexual assault and harassment must be held accountable.”

Statement on the Serious Accusations against Rep. Eric Swalwell. pic.twitter.com/9lkYqiCIGr

— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) April 11, 2026

The statement came as a San Francisco Chronicle piece detailed, for the first time, sexual abuse allegations against the longtime lawmaker and one-time presidential candidate.

While credible sources -- including progressive activists -- had said multiple accusations were imminent against Swalwell earlier in the week, Swalwell remained defiant, with his team calling the claims “false” and “outrageous."

The campaign team added that they were being put forward “by flailing opponents who have sadly teamed up with MAGA conspiracy theorists because they know Eric Swalwell is the frontrunner in this race,” according to Politico.

However, the San Francisco Chronicle’s Friday piece not only detailed allegations from a former staffer, but included corroborating evidence, such as medical records. The ex-staffer said that on multiple occasions beginning weeks after she was hired in 2019, Swalwell -- who was married at the time, and still is -- began making unwanted advances and forcing himself on her, often while she was too inebriated to consent.

“The woman said Swalwell began pursuing her within weeks after she was hired at age 21 to work in the Democrat’s district office in Castro Valley in 2019. Swalwell messaged her on Snapchat, she said, sending images of his genitals and seeking nude pictures of her in return,” the outlet reported.

“She said Swalwell, who is married and 17 years her senior, tried to kiss her in her car when she drove him home from a donor meeting one night. Driving him to another event weeks later, she said Swalwell pulled out his penis in the car and asked her to perform oral sex on him. She said she did so in a parking lot,” the piece continued.

“In September 2019, the woman said, Swalwell invited her out for drinks and she became so severely intoxicated that she does not remember the rest of the night. She said she woke up naked in Swalwell’s hotel bed and could feel the effect of vaginal intercourse. She said Swalwell distanced himself from her afterward and the relationship faded.”

But then, in 2024, she said that the representative forced himself on her at a gala in his honor while she no longer worked for him. She said that she “became so inebriated that she only remembers snippets of the night, including pushing Swalwell away and telling him, ‘No,’ while he allegedly forced himself on her.”

The woman said she didn’t make the accusations public before now because her experience with Swalwell’s office was “the foundation of my career” and she “had nothing to fall back on or anyone to vouch for my skills outside of my colleagues in that office.”

However, she began speaking with the San Francisco Chronicle last month. When rumors began surfacing online, she said, a campaign staffer with Swalwell’s team reached out to her and asked if Swalwell had behaved inappropriately with her.

When she didn’t answer immediately, the staffer reportedly said, “Actually, I don’t want to know.”

Jeffries wasn’t the only one distancing himself from Swalwell. Notably, several Democrats withdrew endorsements, including California Rep. Ted Lieu and Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego.

In light of the recent allegations against Representative Eric Swalwell, I am withdrawing my endorsement of his campaign for Governor.

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) April 10, 2026

I’ve read the San Francisco Chronicle’s reporting and I take it seriously.

What is described is indefensible. Women who come forward with accounts like this deserve to be heard with respect, not questioned or dismissed.

I regret having come to his defense on social media prior…

— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) April 10, 2026

As of Friday night, the endorsements and donations page to Swalwell’s gubernatorial candidacy were down, as well. As of 6:30 p.m. Pacific Time, the candidate had yet to make a statement on social media about the allegations in the Chronicle or rumors that further allegations were to come.

JUST IN: The 'Endorsements' section on Eric Swalwell's campaign site has been removed and returns a 404 error. pic.twitter.com/sMndosxwWl

— Rob Pyers (@rpyers) April 10, 2026

Not only is the endorsements page down, the donation page on Swalwell's website is too: https://t.co/QBPIXOTyVu pic.twitter.com/sFI2c9rw6I

— Jaron Zhou (@ZhouJaron) April 10, 2026

Notably, however, no Democrat -- including Jeffries -- called for Swalwell to step away from his House seat, where the GOP majority is thin and every vote counts.

If Swalwell exits the California governor’s race, however, it would make things easier for Democrats by reducing the chance that two Republicans advance in the state’s so-called “jungle primary” system, where candidates of all parties run in the primary and only the top two advance to the general election, regardless of affiliation.

Despite being accused of sexual activity with a Chinese spy in the early 2010s, Swalwell had frequently been a supporter of the #MeToo movement -- so long as it involved allegations against Republicans.

In 2017, he told voters in an Alabama special election that they should vote Democrat based on claims of decades-old sexual misconduct against Republican candidate Judge Roy Moore: “After all the whataboutism & rationalization & partisanship, it comes down to this: You can vote for a sexual predator, or not vote for a sexual predator,” he said in a tweet.

After all the whataboutism & rationalization & partisanship, it comes down to this: You can vote for a sexual predator, or not vote for a sexual predator. #ALSenate

— Eric Swalwell (@ericswalwell) December 11, 2017

And in 2018, he sought to tie up the nomination of now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh by allowing several women who had accused the judge of misconduct to testify at length, even though they did not have corroborating evidence and many of their stories did not check out.

“I hope, tomorrow, he opens his statement and says, ‘You know what? Bring in all the victims. Allow them to be heard, allow them to be questioned,” he said at the time, adding that while one accusation might be overlooked, “more and more cases that are separate and independent, that look the same, pretty soon a prosecutor starts to say to a jury… that the arrows are pointing in the same direction.”

The Chinese navy and coast guard have deployed 100 vessels in the East and South China Seas, according to information that two Taiwanese security officials told Reuters.

China’s presence is highly heightened when compared with the usual strength in the theater of about 50-60 ships, according to a statement that one official provided to Reuters.

However, these ships are nowhere to be seen on the map. They are all operating with their transponders turned off, according to open source websites like VesselFinder, which do not show any naval assets in the region besides a few coast guard ships at the time of this article’s publication.

“I think that China is ramping up because they know that the Americans are essentially out of power projection in the Indo-Pacific region for years,” Brandon Weichert, a former congressional staffer and national security expert, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“We’re sending two carriers to the Indo-Pacific presently, but there is no way that Trump will seriously do anything to risk a war with Xi over Taiwan,” Weichert said.

“Safeguarding the common homeland through peaceful development” was a point made by Chinese President Xi Jinping in an official Chinese Communist Party meeting. This was relayed by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Mao Ning, in an X post. This contradicts the military escalation in the area.

The Chinese and Taiwanese governments didn’t respond to a request for comment.

General Secretary Xi made four points about the development of cross-Strait relations.
1️⃣ Fostering heart-to-heart connection on the basis of correct identity.
2️⃣ Safeguarding the common homeland through peaceful development.
3️⃣ Improving public well-being through exchanges and… pic.twitter.com/IMGdX290j1

— Mao Ning 毛宁 (@SpoxCHN_MaoNing) April 10, 2026

The USS Abraham Lincoln and its attached carrier strike group were initially operating in Asia before they were sent to the Middle East in January, according to reporting by Forbes.

Weichert said that these escalatory actions are dry runs for when Beijing pulls the trigger on the blockade.

“I am not yet convinced they will pull the trigger on a blockade,” Weichert said. “But they are signaling that they can, and that the US can’t stop them, hoping that the region takes note of the changes in the US defense posture and makes no calculations.”

Commercial shipping in the area appears to not have been impacted at all. Hundreds of commercial vessels are still traversing the Taiwan Strait at the time of this article’s publication, based on VesselFinder.

In the publicly available Google Maps satellite imagery, a Shaanxi KJ-500 is in plain view on the runway.

The Shaanxi KJ-500 is an airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft operated by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force, according to information published by Military Factory.

Moreover, the People’s Liberation Army Navy is expanding its shipbuilding efforts, further threatening Taiwan.

Publicly available satellite images on Google Maps seemingly show a replenishment ship being constructed by China in one of its shipbuilding yards. Replenishment ships help ferry supplies and fuel for military applications.

“Chinese shipbuilding is key,” Weichert told the Daily Caller News Foundation in an email.

“They can overmatch the US Navy in that First Island Chain already. Each day, they add to that overmatch between their efficient mass production of ships and the creation of their vast missile and hypersonic and drone architecture arrayed throughout the region.”

This is not the beginning of China’s buildup in the theater. The Chinese military operates a large base in the Paracel Island archipelago.

This base is so large and well occupied that it even has a full-size running track and soccer field, according to satellite images publicly available on Google Maps.

“This is a key node for Chinese power projection into the southern periphery of the First Island Chain,” Weichert said regarding the Chinese military base. “Beijing is dedicated to projecting decisive military power through this region.”

Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te is not in communication with the Chinese Communist Party. The CCP has even called him a “separatist,” according to Reuters. Taiwan’s opposition leader, Cheng Li-wun, just met with President Xi regarding relations across the Taiwan Strait.

The movement of assets from Asia to the Middle East may officially be the nail in the coffin of an official U.S. policy that was in effect for years, which became known as “the pivot to Asia.”

“Taiwan independence is the chief culprit in undermining peace in the Taiwan Strait – we will absolutely not tolerate or condone it,” Chinese President Xi Jinping told the island’s opposition leader, according to Reuters.

Or, would it be more accurate to say that they have safely splashed down on Earth?

Welcome home Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy! 🫶

The Artemis II astronauts have splashed down at 8:07pm ET (0007 UTC April 11), bringing their historic 10-day mission around the Moon to an end. pic.twitter.com/1yjAgHEOYl

— NASA (@NASA) April 11, 2026

Astronauts Reid Wiseman (commander), Victor Glover (pilot), Christina Koch (mission specialist), and Jeremy Hansen (mission specialist from the Canadian Space Agency) safely came back home Friday evening, splashing down off the coast of San Diego, per NASA.

Navy and NASA officials swiftly extracted the astronauts and prepared to bring in the Orion spacecraft.

President Donald Trump's White House posted a live feed of the event to commemorate the safe return of the four astronauts:

NASA’s Artemis II Crew Comes Home https://t.co/ZOLmyaqTY9

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 10, 2026

The Artemis II mission is the first in 50 years to bring humans as close to the moon as the four who just returned.

Beyond the scientific importance of this mission, it was also an emotional one, according to the Associated Press.

The outlet reported that Wiseman and the crew shared a touching moment of remembrance by naming a small moon crater after the commander's late wife.

Federal authorities arrested Thomas Pham LeGro in June 2025 for possessing child pornography after executing a search warrant at his home and seizing his personal electronic devices.

LeGro worked for the Post for 18 years in two stints since 2000, according to the outlet.

Agents discovered a fractured hard drive hidden under a rug of LeGro’s basement during the search, according to the DOJ’s press release.

They found a folder on his laptop that contained 11 videos depicting child sexual abuse, which depicted adult men sexually abusing prepubescent children and forcing them to engage in sexual acts.

🚨BREAKING: Former Washington Post editor Thomas LeGro pleads guilty to federal child p*rnography charges in DC.

— Jack (@jackunheard) April 10, 2026

The FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force is investigating the case, according to the DOJ.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Caroline Burrell is prosecuting the case for the District of Columbia.

LeGro rejoined the Post as an editor on the breaking news desk after previously working part-time for the outlet during graduate school, according to the Mason Spirit.

He later became a senior producer for the Post’s International, Style and Technology teams in 2015.

In 2018, LeGro and the staff won a Pulitzer Prize for “purposeful and relentless reporting that changed the course of a Senate race in Alabama,” which exposed former Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore’s alleged sexual harassment of underage girls in 2017.

Activist organizations made headlines on March 21 after delivering humanitarian aid to Cuba to protest President Donald Trump’s sanctions on the regime. At least seven groups involved previously pushed Soviet-friendly agendas or had direct USSR ties, a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation found.

High-profile leftist groups like the Democratic Socialists of America, Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s daughter and staunchly pro-China influencer Hasan Piker joined the Cuba trip, dubbed the Nuestra América Convoy.

Beneath the Cuban “solidarity” messaging, however, lies a web of anti-American politics that has persisted despite the USSR’s 1991 demise.

“Cuba is a time capsule for old communists to relive their revolutionary 1960s youth, and a cult destination for younger militants who are either fully indoctrinated or see their support as virtue signaling against the United States,” Cold War scholar J. Michael Waller, a former CIA operative in Latin America, told the DCNF.

“To them, Cuba represents the ‘cool’ Communism of the 1960s, despite the connection with the surviving elements of the Soviet active measures machine.”

The convoy’s “strategic partners” included the Soviet-aligned U.S. Peace Council, International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) and National Lawyers Guild (NLG), according to its website.

Activists at the National Network on Cuba (NNOC) also helped plan the convoy.

The NNOC is a coalition of member organizations that include the Soviet-sympathetic Communist Party USA (CPUSA), CovertAction Institute and Socialist Workers Party (SWP).

The NNOC has also organized educational trips to Cuba in tandem with the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), founded by Fidel Castro.

CPUSA, U.S. Peace Council, IADC, CovertAction, SWP the NLG and the NNOC did not respond to the DCNF’s requests for comment.

Leftists’ Cuba caravans came largely in response to Trump throttling Cuba’s international oil trade.

The president previously imposed terrorism sanctions on Cuba for harboring criminals and threatened to “take” the island. ICAP President Fernando González Llort told the NNOC that visiting Cuba is “a political and truthful act” against America in a November video speech.

“The work you do from the United States is essential,” said González, a convicted Cuban regime spy who the U.S. released in 2014. “Each approved local resolution, each caravan, each brigade, each communication piece that dismantles the lie, it is a sharp blow against the policy of asphyxiation.”

Castro established ICAP in 1960 to facilitate flashy trips to Cuba as propaganda, according to Cuban state media and the CIA. Castro’s pro-Soviet government received heavy Russian military support.

ICAP also participates in the Soviet-backed World Peace Council. Soviets created the group and its American affiliate, the U.S. Peace Council, to campaign internationally against America, according to the CIA and the U.S. Peace Council’s former director.

The 89-year-old National Lawyers Guild frequently took pro-Russia stances while denying that it was a Soviet front, a profile by Capital Research Center notes. However, the NLG helped create the IADL, an entity that the CIA and the International Commission of Jurists exposed as a front group hiring Soviets.

Additionally, CovertAction Magazine worked with Russia to disrupt CIA spying by publishing compromising materials, according to Soviet documents reported by Politico. Moscow also established CPUSA in the 1920s by merging other communist groups, which the party’s website boasts about.

Meanwhile, the Socialist Workers’ Party promoted “unconditional” American support for Soviet Russia despite criticizing dictator Joseph Stalin.

Overlap between pro-Soviet groups was so extensive that one CPUSA member served as the NLG’s executive secretary and the IADL’s representative to the United Nations, records show.

Such groups eventually blended into the left’s Cuba movement as partners of the Nuestra América Convoy or the NNOC, founded in 1991 in Washington.

To support Cuba, the Socialist Workers Party has organized protests, outreach and electoral campaigns in America. SWP’s current U.S. director even attended a 1960 Havana event where rebel leader Che Guevara spoke, according to the SWP’s official newspaper.

The U.S. Peace Council partnered with the NLG to raise money for the March Cuba convoy. CPUSA has also sent multiple so-called Cuba delegations since 2017, its website shows.

Soviet-aligned groups endure because America did not take their influence seriously, Waller told the DCNF.

“They have never been held accountable for being willing collaborators with that old KGB network,” he said.

“Their non-Communist allies and coalition partners were always fine with those connections and covered up for them. The big foundations and big academia laundered them and employed them. Big media never exposed them. FBI almost never went after them. And so they never had to cover their tracks because there was no need.”

Blaming America for Cuban poverty is an attempt to whitewash socialism’s repeated failures, economic and foreign policy experts told the DCNF.

“As we have seen with nearly every Communist regime in history, Cuba is not a viable state without constant outside support and repression of its people,” said George Moraitis, a former Navy officer and GOP House candidate in Florida. “Whether it’s China, Russia, or these far-left activist groups, the regime survives on lifelines from those willing to prop it up coupled with an aggressive police state.”

With Cubans increasingly protesting communism, “The last thing they need is American activists giving cover to the very regime they’re trying to escape,” Moraitis said.

Cuba’s authoritarian policies largely remain, according to Heritage Foundation economist Anthony Kim. “Heavy state intervention has stifled innovation, and the state’s foreign-currency earnings are dependent on a few exports, along with tourism,” he told the DCNF.

“A small number of limited reforms beginning some years ago, for instance, have allowed Cubans to work as ‘self-employed people’ in the private sector, but currently they can work only in narrow categories defined by the state,” Kim said.

“The government — which has been spending more than 60% of the island’s economic output — has remained firmly in control of the private sector and the daily economic life of the Cuban people.”

Leftists are promoting yet another failing communist project to Americans, Waller told the DCNF.

“Their current claims have been the same claims for more than half a century,” Waller said.

“It’s all tired, stale Soviet active measures themes. They can’t even be creative about it. They’re just performing their swan song after having wasted their lives on a loser cause.”

Anger has been brewing in several localities across the U.S. against data center projects, with voters in a Wisconsin town overwhelmingly opting Tuesday to crack down on a proposed development.

Tuesday’s vote followed months of at times raucous opposition against CRG Clayco’s plan to build a hyperscale data center on 360 acres in the town. The four city council members who lost their reelection bids were defeated by candidates who ran against the data centers and supported more transparency in the data center approval process.

“This data center fight has struck this community to the core and really, honestly ignited a community-driven effort here,” Dan Moore, who defeated pro-data center incumbent Bobby Benz, told St. Louis Public Radio.

“People are awake now, and we’re not going to let this continue on anymore.”

Residents opposed to the AI data center flooded a local gymnasium to voice their frustrations during a March 31 city council meeting where the council voted to approve a framework of requirements for CRG’s planned construction, St. Louis Public Radio reported.

“I am not against growth,” Festus resident Lauren Albers said during the raucous city council meeting.

“I’m against putting data centers between homes. I am against rushing into development before residents get real information, real answers and a real voice.”

Supporters of AI counter that data center development is crucial to the future of the economy and necessary to combat rivals such as China, while opponents are concerned the projects will force people to lose their homes through eminent domain and will cause their electric bills to skyrocket.

Voters in Port Washington, Wisconsin, also went to the polls Tuesday to air their frustrations against an AI data center in their community. Voters, by a near two-to-one margin, approved the first-in-the nation ballot initiative opposing a planned $15 billion OpenAI-Vantage data center campus.

Although the passed Wisconsin measure will not stop construction of the project, it does add requirements for the public to approve tax incentives for future construction in the area.

The project was backed by President Donald Trump as part of the Stargate initiative he announced alongside tech CEOs in January 2025.

Trump signed an executive order in July 2025 to “to facilitate the rapid and efficient buildout of this infrastructure by easing Federal regulatory burdens.”

Additionally, the Trump administration encouraged $92 billion in private sector investment aimed at AI.

“We have to get this stuff built .… They have to produce a lot of electricity, and we’ll make it possible for them to get that production done very easily,” Trump said.

“What we want to do is keep [AI infrastructure] in this country. China is a competitor.”

Local communities across America including in Alabama, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Florida have also protested data center expansions.

As abortions and taxpayer funding increased, the organization’s expenses exceeded its revenue for the first time in recent years, with a $29.3 million net loss, the 2024-2025 annual report reveals.

During the fiscal year ending in June 2025, the abortion provider received more than $2.14 billion in total revenue, including $832 million from government contracts, grants and Medicaid reimbursements.

Data included in the report from Planned Parenthood affiliates only extends through 2024, and the national data was collected before the One Big Beautiful Bill Act stripped the organization’s Medicaid dollars.

Nearly two dozen Planned Parenthood clinics have closed since Congress cut off Medicaid funding, according to MS Now.

Planned Parenthood received $39.8 million more in taxpayer funds during 2024-2025 than in the prior fiscal year, according to the reports.

The organization’s taxpayer funding has increased by almost 50 percent since 2014, according to the Charlotte Lozier Institute.

It also hit a record 434,450 abortions, up from 402,200 the prior year, as other services continued to decrease.

Despite revenue loss, Planned Parenthood bragged that it “disbursed $3.7 million to more than 12,200 patients to help them overcome barriers to abortion care,” including paying for transportation, lodging and meals.

It also poured resources into litigation, fighting the Trump administration’s changes to the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program and providing support for Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic at the Supreme Court.

Planned Parenthood did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In its June 2025 ruling, the Supreme Court opened the door for states to end Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood. That ruling followed the court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe V. Wade.

The organization spent a total of $56.9 million on advocacy and $61.2 million on public policy, according to the report.

The Trump administration announced on March 31 that it would extend Biden-era Title X family planning grant funding to Planned Parenthood for another year, sparking backlash from pro-life groups.

However, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is developing a new “Protect Life Rule” that would restrict funds from going to organizations that offer abortions, the Daily Signal reported.

“I write to express my alarm at the recent decision to release another year of Title X grant funding to abortion providers,” Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley said in a Friday statement.

“These grants, originally approved by the Biden Administration, will now directly subsidize organizations like Planned Parenthood that perform hundreds of thousands of abortions each year. I urge you to reverse course.”

It will be led by the aircraft carriers HMS Hermes and HMS Invincible. It can be ready to leave in 48 hours.”And so it was, followed by the Argentinians suffering a sound thumping.

When Iranian missiles threatened the Brits’ Cyprus base recently, the mighty British Navy struggled to send a single destroyer.

England’s martial decrepitude is the European norm. With one exception, America’s biggest NATO “allies” are all military midgets. Germany? Nichts. Spain? Nada, amigo. Italy? Grazzi, ma passo.

France alone often punches a tad above its weight, which is small comfort as in its dealings with America, France can be relied upon to be unreliable, resolute in irresolution, firm in its passivity.

President Donald Trump indicates he’s seriously thinking about pulling out of NATO. Some Republicans disagree. Some argue, credibly, Trump lacks the legal authority to leave NATO.

But he can order the U.S. military to end all contact with NATO. He can pull U.S. troops out of NATO countries. He can effectively kill NATO even while technically remaining in NATO.

Why leave NATO? Ignore the years of NATO members backsliding on defense spending. Consider the treatment America recently received from its alleged allies beyond refusing to get involved in their own defense.

“We don’t authorize either the use of military bases or the use of airspace for actions related to the war in Iran,” Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles proclaimed.

Italy refused the use by U.S. bombers of Sicily’s strategic Naval Air Station Sigonella.

True to form, France refused to allow planes loaded with supplies for the Iran conflict to transit its airspace.

The U.K. initially refused to allow the use of English airbases, but then Prime Minister Starmer elicited guffaws saying the United States could use the bases for “defensive” missions.

As expected, Iran effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, creating inconveniences for America and huge problems for the rest of the world.

Trump posted on Truth Social, “All of those countries that can’t get jet fuel because of the Strait of Hormuz, like the United Kingdom, which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, I have a suggestion for you: Number 1, buy from the U.S., we have plenty, and Number 2, build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT.”

And some might consider it – had they the military capacity to do so – and only once the shooting stops. Can’t risk warships where there’s a war going on now, can we?

Iran recently obliged Trump by proving their missiles have longer “legs” than the “talk-talk” caucus claimed. Iran launched two ballistic missiles at the U.S. Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean.

The missiles failed to reach their targets, yet the Iranians succeeded brilliantly. They succeeded in telling Europe none of your capitals is safe. Yet Europe dithers still.

Europe can acknowledge Trump was right, that Iran intends to use ballistic missiles to threaten first the region, then Europe, then the world. Or Europe can pretend it didn’t happen. Any bets on which way the Europeans go?

Trump’s Iran war may not succeed. The final judgement rests on the final outcome. America’s military has performed magnificently, but war remains an extension of politics. The political victory must await future events.

If the regime eventually falls as the Iranian people rise up, then Trump’s war will be vindicated, the Middle East will take a huge step toward enduring peace, and the United States can finally bear down on the graver threat: China.

But if the regime survives to someday threaten the world with nuclear warheads on long-range missiles, then the war’s rationale will be disputable, at best. As General Douglas MacArthur said in 1951, “In war, there is no substitute for victory.”

Allies sitting this one out returns us to the original question – why NATO? To be sure, American security would benefit from a strong NATO. But a strong NATO requires militarily and politically strong allies. Instead, America faces a continent of gnats and a gadfly.

NATO’s defenders emphasize the alliance’s great success in defeating the Soviet Union. All true. All dust-gathering history.

One reason to shade NATO rises above all others. When its enemies see America passively accept derision and ridicule from feckless allies, America’s enemies see weakness. Facing the likes of China, the surest path to deadly conflict is to show weakness. That’s just a fact. A very dangerous fact. On net, NATO is a security liability.

Trump shouldn’t consider leaving NATO. He should do it. Cut the cord.

Dispel the illusion woven by those wed to the comfortable status quo, just as he did with Venezuela. Trump should just wave and quote the Terminator. “Hasta la vista, baby.”

J.D. Foster is the former chief economist at the Office of Management and Budget and former chief economist and senior vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He now resides in relative freedom in the hills of Idaho.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

A lawsuit filed by a subordinate of a woman Mamdani appointed to run the city's department of probation -- and clean up ethical messes from the previous administration -- claims she was fired for blowing the whistle on an "intimate relationship" between her boss and the agency's top attorney, according to Politico.

And Mamdani himself is already facing public questions about it.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday by now-former city Department of Probation chief investigator Ebony Huntley.

According to the New York Post, Huntley claimed that the Department of Probation Commissioner Sharun Goodwin was engaged in a personal relationship with Wayne McKenzie, the agency's general counsel.

NYC probation staffer was sacked for blowing whistle on alleged tryst between Mamdani appointee and top aide: suit https://t.co/sbXvxYWljk pic.twitter.com/SBblQEwKTZ

— New York Post (@nypost) April 10, 2026

According to Politico, Huntley learned of the relationship from an anonymous complaint.

The complaint, received in late March, said that the relationship "may present a conflict of interest and impact impartial decision-making,” according to Politico. The alleged relationship was in place before McKenzie was hired as general counsel, according to the New York Post.

The allegation was accompanied by other complaints, such as accusing the agency's human resource director, Zenia Melendez, of engaging in "verbal and physical violence" targeting staff members.

“Collectively, these concerns have created a workplace environment where employees feel uneasy, discouraged from speaking openly, and uncertain about their job security,” the complaint said, according to Politico.

“Many employees simply want to perform their duties in a professional setting without fear of retaliation or favoritism. If the goal is to move the Department of Probation forward, there is a strong need for leadership that reflects professionalism, objectivity and accountability.”

After she forwarded the complaint to the city's Department of Investigation, Huntley apparently discussed the matter with an attorney in her own department. The attorney said he was going to inform McKenzie about the complaint, over Huntley's objections.

The next day, according to Politico, Huntley was called into a meeting McKenzie organized. There, McKenzie said he could not trust her and that she was being fired, according to Politico.

Huntley maintains she was only doing her job.

"I did what I was supposed to do," she told Politico. “I didn’t do anything wrong and I definitely shouldn’t have been fired."

She is asking for unspecified monetary damages, according to Politico. However, the New York Post reported that Huntley maintains the firing cost her $170,000-a-year salary for the city.

Mamdani himself was questioned about the case at an unrelated news conference on Friday, the day that marked his 100th in office since his Jan. 1 inauguration.

“I take any allegations of misconduct incredibly seriously,” Mamdani said, according to the New York Daily News.

“I’m not going to be weighing in on any ongoing investigation. However, New Yorkers should rest assured that there is an investigation.”

According to a Politico report from January, Goodwin was named to head the Department of Probation amid accusations that the previous commissioner -- an appointee of now-former Mayor Eric Adams -- mismanaged the department and used it as a source of jobs for her family and friends.

At the time, Mamdani said he had appointed Goodwin to the post because of her commitment to "fairness," along with "efficiency and excellence.”

NASA said in a news release that the crew's Orion capsule will hit the waters of the Pacific Ocean around 8:07 p.m. Eastern Time.

People can watch the splashdown on NASA's YouTube livestream, and it will also be streaming on platforms like Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Netflix, HBO Max, and Roku, among others. No doubt, the major news networks like Fox News and CNN will be covering it live, too.

.@POTUS asks the Artemis II crew, "What is the most unforgettable part of this really historic day?"

Commander Reid Wiseman: "We saw sights... that no human has ever seen before — not even in Apollo." pic.twitter.com/f3ThoGm91e

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 7, 2026

Within two hours of splashdown, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman (commander of the mission), Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen will be extracted from the Orion capsule and flown to the USS John P. Murtha, which is an amphibious transport dock ship.

USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26) is underway in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of operations supporting NASA’s Artemis II mission, standing ready to retrieve the crew and Orion spacecraft following splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. 🚀🌕

Artemis II marks the first crewed mission around the… pic.twitter.com/fVNjMh1F98

— U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (@INDOPACOM) April 9, 2026

"Recovery teams will retrieve the crew using helicopters, and once aboard the ship, the astronauts will undergo post‑mission medical evaluations before returning to shore to board an aircraft bound for NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston," NASA said.

Artemis II astronauts have traveled 252,756 miles from Earth, flown around the Moon, and observed the lunar surface like never before. Now, they’re coming home. 🌎

Watch the crew splash down on Friday, April 10, around 8:07pm ET (0007 UTC April 11). https://t.co/Ccsk5Z3HFS pic.twitter.com/QoJW2oYVFG

— NASA (@NASA) April 10, 2026

In their mission to the Moon and back, the Artemis II crew eclipsed the record for the farthest any human has traveled from the Earth, going 248,655 miles or about 4,070 miles more than the Apollo 13 flight did in 1970.

Hello, Moon. It’s great to be back.

Here’s a taste of what the Artemis II astronauts photographed during their flight around the Moon. Check out more photos from the mission: https://t.co/rzM1P0QbOl pic.twitter.com/6jWINHkDLh

— NASA (@NASA) April 7, 2026

The exact sequence of events during reentry, NASA said, will start with the service module separating from the Orion capsule at 7:33 p.m. The capsule will then reach the upper atmosphere southeast of Hawaii at 7:37 p.m. and will be in a six-minute communications blackout at 7:53 as plasma forms around the capsule during peak heating.

The crew is expected to experience up to 3.9 Gs pressing against them during reentry, i.e., around four times their body weight.

Artemis II faces its biggest test yet before returning home later today

From re-entry to splash down (7:54pm - 8:07pm ET):

• 400,000 ft. descent
• Max Temps: +5,000°F
• Top Speed: 23,864 mph
• 6-minute comms blackout

Orion essentially becomes a meteor for 13 minutes pic.twitter.com/bNeTbdjBgI

— Morning Brew ☕️ (@MorningBrew) April 10, 2026

NASA explained, "After emerging from blackout, Orion will jettison its forward bay cover, deploy its drogue parachutes near 22,000 feet at 8:03 p.m., and then unfurl its three main parachutes around 6,000 feet at 8:04 p.m. to slow the capsule for splashdown off the coast of San Diego."

The man called 911, claiming that four armed people were trying to harm him. When police officers arrived, they found him behind a locked door and sent a clinician, who spoke with him for nearly 45 minutes while the door remained closed, CBS News reported Monday.

However, as soon as the man opened the door at first responders’ urging, he brandished a sword and swiftly knocked the mental health worker to the ground while stabbing one of the officers in the arm.

“At some point the officers requested the assistance of EMS [emergency medical services] and their clinician. … After an extended period of time EMS and the clinician concluded that this person was in some type of immediate need of attention due to certainly suffering from some type of mental health crisis,” Boston Police Department (BPD) Commissioner Michael Cox said in a Saturday afternoon press conference.

“As they asked the individual to begin the process of maybe coming up and keeping the attention they needed, the individual immediately opened the door and struck both the clinician and an officer who was outside the door,” Cox continued. “He was armed with some type of sword, striking, or I should say, stabbing, the officer in the arm, knocking at least the EMS clinician to the ground.”

“One or more officers, under investigation at this time, fired both a Taser and their weapon at the individual, bringing the person to a halt. EMS immediately provided medical attention to the caller … who was taken to area hospitals and treated,” the commissioner added. “Unfortunately, the person succumbed to the injuries.”

#BREAKING Police say a person was killed in an officer-involved shooting at an apartment on Hemenway St. Several officers were also injured.

Authorities say the person was in a mental health crisis when he opened the door to police, armed with some sort of sword. pic.twitter.com/uLGdE14Gue

— Boston 25 News (@boston25) April 4, 2026

When asked for comment, the BPD referred the Daily Caller News Foundation to audio from Cox’s Saturday press conference.

“For 10 years, BPD has partnered with Boston Medical Center’s Boston Emergency Services Team (BEST). Police officers are paired with mental health workers,” the City of Boston’s website states.

“Together, they respond to mental health calls that present a public safety risk.”

“Co-response has been shown to divert individuals with mental illness from the criminal justice system and the emergency room. It also connects them to the care they need,” the website claimed.

While serving on the Boston City Council in June 2020, one month after the death of George Floyd, now-Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu filed and championed an ordinance that sought to divert 911 calls deemed nonviolent from police to social workers and health care professionals.

Also in 2020, Wu supported a 10 percent budget cut to the BPD, although she has since backtracked from supporting such cuts after being elected mayor the following year.

In 2024, Wu and her administration announced $21 million in funding for “in transformative funding for mental and behavioral health programs and services to support the City’s youth and families,” according to a press release at the time, which did not mention law enforcement.

CBS affiliate KUTV reported that an affidavit for a search warrant of Robinson's residence said that investigators met with Twiggs, who showed them text messages he exchanged with Robinson on Sept. 10, 2025, the day of the shooting.

SEARCH WARRANT TYLER ROBINSON TIMELINE UVU

Newly unsealed court documents provide a detailed minute-by-minute look at the movements of Tyler James Robinson, the 22-year-old accused of assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on September 10,… pic.twitter.com/hFpXCP3xPK

— Heidi Hatch KUTV (@tvheidihatch) April 10, 2026

In one of the messages, Robinson instructed Twiggs to "drop what you are doing" and "look under my keyboard."

Twiggs told investigators that he looked under the keyboard and found a handwritten letter which read, "If you are reading this per my text, then I am so sorry. I left the house this morning on a mission, and set an auto text. I am likely dead, or facing a lengthy prison sentence. I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I took it. I don’t know if I will/have succeeded, but I had hoped to make it home to you."

"I wish we could have lived in a world where this did not feel necessary. I wish I could have stayed for you and lived our lives together. I lack the words to express how much I love you, and how very much you mean to me. Please try and find joy in this life. I love you, always, -Tyler."

Unsealed court documents reveal the note that Tyler Robinson left for his lover, Lance Twiggs. pic.twitter.com/0XPQF7uUOC

— National Chronicle (@NCNewsOnX) April 10, 2026

Kirk was shot and killed at a Turning Point USA outdoor event taking place at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.

It was the first stop in "The American Comeback Tour," in which Kirk invited students to "Ask Me Anything."

.@JackPosobiec and @libbyemmons discuss Tyler Robinson’s defense team in SHAMBLES after unsealed court docs reveal accused Charlie Kirk assassin’s messages with trans lover:

“‘Short of my family being willing to cover for me I am effed.’ I am what do you do without something… pic.twitter.com/es2rUJ9Llh

— Human Events (@HumanEvents) April 10, 2026

ABC News reported that Robinson has been charged with aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, obstruction of justice, two counts of witness tampering, and commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child.

Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty for the 22-year-old.

Last fall, Utah Valley District Attorney Jeff Gray read to reporters text messages that Robinson allegedly sent to Twiggs in which the former said about Kirk, "I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out. If I'm able to grab my rifle unseen, I will have left no evidence.”

🚨 CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSIN TYLER ROBINSON, on why he took out Charlie Kirk, speaking to transgender boyfriend: "I had enough of his HATRED. Some hate can't be negotiated out." pic.twitter.com/CSbetzpmII

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) September 16, 2025

“I am still ok my love, but am stuck in orem for a little while longer yet," he added. "Shouldn’t be long until I can come home, but I gotta grab my rifle still. To be honest I had hoped to keep this secret till I died of old age. I am sorry to involve you.”

Thus, thanks to a multi-hole meltdown during first-round action Thursday, MacIntyre almost certainly will miss the cut at the Masters.

Moreover, according to The Scotsman, officials at Augusta National "reprimanded" MacIntyre for his outbursts. Judging by the golfer's attitude, more consequences could await.

For instance, as his fortunes deteriorated on the back nine, cameras caught MacIntyre flipping off the 15th hole after a poorly-struck ball landed in the water.

Here is a short clip of that moment, posted to the social media platform X:

Bob McIntyre having a complete meltdown at Augusta pic.twitter.com/RssG2bH21x

— Josh MacNeel (@joshmacneel) April 9, 2026

Then, MacIntyre slammed his club into the ground following an errant shot on the 17th hole.

"Robert MacIntyre slamming his club into 14 and 17 is getting old fast. If you can’t respect the course, let alone Augusta National, get off," one golf-related account on X demanded.

Robert MacIntyre slamming his club into 14 and 17 is getting old fast. If you can’t respect the course, let alone Augusta National, get off. pic.twitter.com/FG5yXeKkrm

— FittingPros | Find Trusted Club Fitters (@FittingPros) April 10, 2026

According to Golf Monthly, that outburst on the 17th hole followed a similar club-slamming incident three holes earlier. Also, microphones caught the World No. 8 golfer swearing on multiple occasions.

On the scoreboard, MacIntyre's meltdown left him eight-over-par after the back nine.

Thursday's outbursts continued a recent trend for the talented yet fiery left-hander.

In fact, after a lost opportunity to win the Sony Open in January, MacIntyre blamed his attitude, according to Golf Monthly.

"I don't know if it's a good thing to say, but snapped my putter on 17 on Friday afternoon," he said at the time. "Missed a three-footer on 18 Friday afternoon, so doing that cost me a shot. And then obviously the backup, exact similar backup, and, yeah, big, big reminder for me that attitude has got to be right for 72 holes not just 36."

"Because at the end of the day my attitude cost me this golf tournament, and can't be allowing that," he added. "You got to be in the right position at the right time to ... allow a round like today to finish off."

On Tuesday at Augusta National, however, the emotional golfer sounded unrepentant.

"I know I am volatile and I know the bad language and stuff, but that’s just me," he said, per The Scotsman.

MacIntyre added that he was "trying to do my best out on the golf course," that he was a "sportsman," but that he would "react the way I want to react" and was "not going to change how I react because there is someone standing there or elsewhere."

Second-round action was set to continue at the Masters on Friday.

The president targeted Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, and Alex Jones as "Low IQ" in a lengthy Truth Social post.

The remarks come after a year of steady criticism from those he called out by name.

Trump said the dispute is ultimately about foreign policy, particularly Iran and the prospect of the country having nuclear weapons.

“I know why Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, and Alex Jones have all been fighting me for years,” Trump wrote.

He accused them of believing “it is wonderful for Iran, the Number One State Sponsor of Terror, to have a Nuclear Weapon.”

Trump then called the group “stupid people” who lack credibility.

https://twitter.com/TrumpDailyPosts/status/2042339446260187421

“They’ve all been thrown off Television, lost their Shows, and aren’t even invited on TV because nobody cares about them,” he wrote.

He added that they are “NUT JOBS, TROUBLEMAKERS,” and are chasing attention through “Third Rate Podcasts.”

Trump also tied their views to what he said was a rejection of his Make America Great Again movement’s priorities.

“MAGA agrees with me,” he wrote, pointing to the results of the 2024 election.

“Tucker Carlson, who couldn’t even finish College,” Trump wrote, adding that he saw Carlson as “a broken man when he got fired from [Fox News].”

He suggested Carlson “should see a good psychiatrist."

Trump also went after Kelly, recalling her “now famous, ‘Only Rosie O’Donnell,’ question” from a 2015 Fox News debate in which she implied he had an issue with women.

He described Owens as “crazy” and criticized her claims involving the first lady of France being a man.

“Actually, to me, the First Lady of France is a far more beautiful woman than Candace,” Trump wrote.

He labeled Jones as “bankrupt” and criticized his past statements about the Sandy Hook mass school shooting.

“These so-called ‘pundits’ are LOSERS, and they always will be!” Trump concluded.

Trump has mostly refrained from engaging directly with the criticisms from the quartet until recently.

Many of those critiques have centered on their claims that Trump is controlled by the Israeli government, which Carlson has implied repeatedly in recent months.

“Tucker’s a low IQ person that has absolutely no idea what’s going on,” Trump told the New York Post this week. “He calls me all the time; I don’t respond to his calls.

“I like dealing with smart people, not fools,” Trump added.

During first-round action Thursday at The Masters, American golfer Xander Schauffele might have proven that the answer is, "Both."

After a wayward tee shot landed in a patron's merchandise bag, Schauffele somehow proceeded to salvage par on the hole.

"First bad driver swing of the day," an announcer said following Schauffele's errant tee shot in a clip posted to the social media platform X.

Then, the ball appeared to hit a large tree limb and fall straight to the ground.

Laughter erupted along the fairway when Augusta National officials spotted Schauffele's ball at the bottom of a pink-and-white merchandise bag.

"I don't think you could buy that in the merchandise shop," the announcer quipped.

"That's a first for me," a second announcer said as officials located the ball at the bottom of the bag.

Xander Schauffele's tee shot somehow ends up in a patron's bag 😂 pic.twitter.com/fAiQK38oAr

— ESPN (@espn) April 9, 2026

The errant tee shot occurred on the par-5 eighth hole, per the Associated Press.

Remarkably, after using a tee to mark his spot, Schauffele went on to par the hole.

In fact, the golfer later described the improbable shot as a stroke of good luck.

"It just flew straight into the bag," he said. "It was a great break. That bounce would’ve put me in the pine straw and who knows if I would’ve had a shot to hit up the hill."

Indeed, the merchandise bag stopped the ball from bouncing further off the fairway.

Moreover, some credit belongs to the tree limb. After all, Schauffele's "bad driver swing" should have landed his ball much deeper into the woods.

Schauffele, however, after finishing the day with a competitive 2-under-par 70, preferred to credit the patron.

"So thanks to the lady on 8," he added.

As for his overall first-round performance, which included three birdies and two bogeys on the back nine, Schauffele -- perhaps with a comedian's wit -- called it "a little bit of a mixed bag."

Play has resumed at Augusta National with second-round action on Friday. Through four holes, Schauffele remained in contention at 2 under par.

Schauffele, of course, could play the rest of his life and never hit a shot like the one that helped him save par on the eighth hole Thursday.

Harris, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, and Rep. Ro Khanna of California are all speaking at the event and are among the potential 2028 Democratic candidates who will attend the convention, according to ABC News.

Harris has left her 2028 plans vague, neither saying she will run for sure nor that, after her 2024 drubbing by President Donald Trump, she will remain on the sidelines.

Sharpton said Harris could be a contender

“I wouldn't ignore the fact that she’s absolutely a potent force in the black community,” Sharpton said in an interview with Politico.

"I do not have any idea whether she's going to try to go again, but I think she's due all the respect for what she did, and the fact that she got more votes than any presidential candidate in American history, other than Trump. I think she has been ignored, and we're going to raise that at our convention,” she said.

Democratic strategist Joel Payne said Harris wants speculation about her plans to stay before the public.

“Candidates are very good about pushing people off a scent if they don’t want you to think about a certain thing,” he said, according to The Hill.

“It does seem like they’re comfortable with people speculating about it, and that’s notable for us political watchers,” he said

Payne said Harris “will be the center of gravity.”

“She’ll be very well received,” one strategist said. “There will be a lot of love and affection for her in that crowd, but it’s the first time in a long time where we’ll be able to see how far that love will extend.”

Despite Harris making a pitch for attention, one Democrat said no one owns the nomination.

“I don’t think anyone clears the field in 2028,” Clay Middleton, a Democratic National Committee member from South Carolina, said, according to The New York Times.

No candidates to date “would prevent other people from getting in, and being competitive,” he said.

CNN data analyst Harry Enten has said Democrats are in trouble, because there is no clear front-runner.

“This is just a total clown car. It is a total mess,” Enten said, according to a video posted on X.

“There is no clear front-runner at this particular point on the Democratic side. Who the heck knows who the nominee is going to be in two years?” Enten said.

Enten said it was “very unusual for the Democratic side to not have a clear front-runner at this point.”

Vance left Friday for Islamabad, Pakistan, for talks with Iran about making the fragile ceasefire that took effect Tuesday into a more durable agreement.

"As the president of the United States said, if the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we're certainly willing to extend the open hand." Vance said, according to a video posted to X.

"If they're gonna try and play us, then they're gonna find that the negotiating team is not that receptive."

“We’re gonna try to have a positive negotiation; the president gave us some pretty clear guidelines, and we’ll see,” Vance said.

.@VP departs for Islamabad, Pakistan: "As @POTUS said, if the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we're certainly willing to extend the open hand. If they're going to try to play us, then they're going to find that the negotiating team is not that receptive." pic.twitter.com/9nNDGsMmId

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 10, 2026

Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s envoy, and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and a past Middle East negotiator, are expected to join Vance, according to The New York Times.

Vance’s role is essential, one commentator noted.

“Because the vice president can pull all the strands together like no other cabinet member, it’s as close to a mirror to the president as you can get,” Philip H. Gordon,  the national security adviser to former Vice President Kamala Harris, said.

“The vice president doesn’t have to be central to anything, but when asked to undertake an important diplomatic mission, then the vice president is hugely empowered,” he said.

Earlier this week, Vance noted that Iran can either deal fairly or face more attacks.

“I think the president has struck a good deal for the American people, but fundamentally, the Iranians have got to take the next step, or the president has a lot of options to go back to the war,” he said.

During a visit to Hungary earlier in the week, Vance said Iran has factions fighting for power, according to CBS News.

"This is why I say this is a fragile truce," Vance said.

"You have people who clearly want to come to the negotiating table and work with us to find a good deal and then you have people who are lying about even the fragile truce that we've already struck,” he said.

Vance said Trump has shown "we still have clear military, diplomatic and, maybe most importantly, we have extraordinary economic leverage."

Trump "has told us not to use those tools,” he said.

"He's told us to come to negotiating table," Vance said. "But if the Iranians don't do the exact same thing, they're going to find out that the president of the United States is not one to mess around. He's impatient. He's impatient to make progress."

On Tuesday, Mamdani walked 6 miles from City Hall in downtown Manhattan to his mayoral mansion on the Upper East Side to mark his 100th day in office.

In a clip that went viral on social media, the leftist Muslim wore a goofy smile while greeting people on the sidewalks, shaking hands, and taking selfies along the way.

Zohran Mamdani walked 6 miles home last night from the New York City Hall to round out his first 100 days in office. pic.twitter.com/UlairRP8Jz

— Pop Base (@PopBase) April 8, 2026

X erupted with hilarious takedowns of the contrived political theater — a hollow stunt designed to show Mamdani as an "everyman" who cares about his fellow New Yorkers.

Many commenters noted that the hypocritical anti-gun zealot was surrounded by armed guards.

pic.twitter.com/M57a9OCRQm

— . (@noxveil__) April 9, 2026

Those men walking with him are fully armed.

I bet the average New Yorker wishes they had that level of protection to walk around in the city.

Mamdani is a bad joke told too many times.

— John Steven Aiken (@JohnSAiken) April 9, 2026

"You can't call yourself a communist without performative staged walks," one X user noted.

You can't call yourself a communist without performative staged walks pic.twitter.com/n5ONF0sx4r

— Condoralita (@Condoralita) April 9, 2026

Mamdani's PR video inadvertently showed graffiti plastered across many locked storefronts — a reminder of the record-high business closures that have occurred due to the soaring theft emboldened by the Black Lives Matter riots and New York's "bail-reform" laws.

"An annual survey of chain stores in New York has documented the closing of hundreds of locations since 2020. Every one of the 13 largest chains in the city has fewer outlets today than it did in 2019," the City Journal reported.

"Since then, the city has lost 50,000 retail jobs."

"Executives blamed not only losses from theft, but also sharply declining sales, thanks to security efforts like removing all merchandise from shelves and locking it in cases," the outlet noted.

New York resident says she’s no longer shopping at CVS anymore because they lock up everything

You can’t even buy regular items like Oreos, coffee, crackers, nuts, everything is locked up

This is all because of Democrat policies pic.twitter.com/7q7CXfKAoN

— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) March 14, 2026

While it's nice for Mamdani that he has time to take a leisurely walk through the city, the hapless Democrat has done nothing to curb the homelessness epidemic, restore the NYC's once-thriving economy, or make the streets safe.

As is the case with most leftists, all he can deliver is cheap PR stunts and flowery rhetoric instead of concrete actions that improve people's lives.

The bottom line, according to Axios, is that amid rumblings that Gabbard might follow ousted Attorney General Pam Bondi and former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem in being dismissed, Stone interceded, ending any plan to dismiss her, at least for now.

Stone summarized the incident on social media.

“Last Monday Loomer tried to convince the President that Tulsi Gabbard was about to resign- in an effort to get Trump to move preemptively to fire her. The whole thing was a hoax. Fortunately, I acted in time,” Stone posted on X.

Last Monday Loomer tried to convince the President that Tulsi Gabbard was about to resign- in an effort to get Trump to move preemptively to fire her. The whole thing was a hoax. Fortunately, I acted in time. When I called Loomer out on her lie is when she became unhinged pic.twitter.com/Qbg2GpI6C2

— Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) April 9, 2026

“When I called Loomer out on her lie is when she became unhinged,” he posted.

The Axios report, which relied mostly on sources it did not name, offered the same conclusion, noting that Gabbard, a staunch anti-interventionist, was in the White House doghouse for her lackluster support of the war with Iran.

The stunning resignation of Joe Kent, the former counterterrorism director, added to displeasure focused on Gabbard.

Gabbard and Trump had a private meeting, during which one version said she was “scolded” amid questions of her loyalty to Trump.

Another source, Axios wrote, said that Trump “wasn't that mad, and instead chided Gabbard in a sarcastic but friendly way.”

Advisers were polled about Gabbard, a process that made it to the media in the form of a report in The Guardian.

Stone then intervened, Axios reported.

"Roger sealed the deal. He saved Tulsi," a source told Axios.

The outlet said four factors were key to Gabbard remaining in her job.

"Gabbard was loyal, gave congressional testimony in a professional manner and never disputed the president," the outlet reported. "Gabbard wasn't going to resign like Kent and didn't deserve to be proactively fired."

"Firing Gabbard would needlessly create a damaging news cycle for Trump — and make her into a martyr of sorts for those in the president's base agitated by the war," Axios noted.

"If she were fired and given that aura of credibility among MAGA dissenters, Gabbard could become a potent GOP presidential candidate in a little over a year. That might hurt Trump's preferred successor, Vice President Vance, in the early 2028 primary states of New Hampshire and South Carolina."

But Loomer has beaten the drum that Gabbard is toast.

"Tulsi is done," Loomer posted on X last week. "The White House wants zero drama so they gave her the option to resign, but... she will do a lot of damage if she is given the choice to resign because she will launch her 2028 presidential campaign."

An ODNI representative said Gabbard "remains committed to fulfilling the responsibilities the President placed in her to protect the safety, security and freedom of the American people. She will continue to work tirelessly on behalf of President Trump's agenda."

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed that, saying, "President Trump believes Tulsi Gabbard is doing an excellent job on behalf of the administration. She is a key member of his national security team."

“It may be time to put Grandpa up in a home,” Owens wrote in an X post that included a screenshot of an earlier Trump message with her name highlighted.

https://twitter.com/RealCandaceO/status/2042360318085456268

Her remark came an hour after Trump publicly singled out her and three other high-profile conservative pundits in a lengthy Truth Social post.

The president had mostly refrained from engaging directly with Owens and the others until Thursday. That all changed when he issued rebukes of Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Owens, and Alex Jones.

Trump replied to separate comments from each on his foreign policy, particularly this past month's Iran strikes and concerns the country would finally get its hands on nuclear weapons.

“I know why Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, and Alex Jones have all been fighting me for years,” Trump wrote.

He accused each of believing “it is wonderful for Iran, the Number One State Sponsor of Terror, to have a Nuclear Weapon.”

Trump then dismissed the group’s collective credibility, calling them all “stupid people” who have been rejected by conservative institutions.

“They’ve all been thrown off Television, lost their Shows, and aren’t even invited on TV because nobody cares about them,” he wrote.

He added that they are “NUT JOBS, TROUBLEMAKERS,” chasing attention through “Third Rate Podcasts.”

Trump singled out Owens directly, calling her “crazy” while criticizing her claims that the first lady of France, Brigitte Macron, is a transgender man.

“Actually, to me, the First Lady of France is a far more beautiful woman than Candace,” Trump wrote.

Owens’ criticism of Trump has not been limited to Middle East policy.

She has claimed that Charlie Kirk was assassinated last year by a number of shadowy figures and not Tyler Robinson, who the evidence points to.

Her claims are disputed by officials in Utah, who say they have extensive evidence pointing to Robinson -- who had far-left views and was dating a transgender furry.

Owens has floated Israeli and Egyptian agents as having planned or carried out the murder. She has further implied that Trump and Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, are both either complicit or controlled by Israeli officials.

In his Thursday post, Trump labeled Jones, Kelly, and Owens as outliers in the conservative movement.

“MAGA agrees with me,” he wrote while pointing to the results of the 2024 election.

The president criticized Carlson separately earlier this week, telling the New York Post that he is “a low IQ person that has absolutely no idea what’s going on.”

“I like dealing with smart people, not fools,” Trump added of Carlson, who stood up for Islam after Trump mocked the religion.

This is, at least, the newest proposed grift that fount of not-inconsiderable shammery, Hunter Biden. The former first son, who was recently declared "impecunious" (broke, for you Democrats) by his own lawyers in court despite that flourishing art career he'd embarked on, now says that he wants to get into some kind of mixed martial arts brawl with the Trump kids on a YouTuber's live tour.

Given my experience with the man and his tendency to create news that is both bad and bizarre all at once, there are very few sentences I'd ever thought I'd never, ever be typing regarding Hunter Biden, and that last one actually happens to be one of them.

Props, I guess.

The former first son posted the video on Thursday, saying that he was going to be touring with social media personality Andrew Callaghan. He's already sat down for an interview with the personality last summer, which produced this this all-time banger of a clip:

Hunter Biden reminisces on how fun his crack addiction was: “People think of crack as being dirty. It’s the exact opposite.” pic.twitter.com/4gmplCXdej

— TheBlaze (@theblaze) July 21, 2025

I mean, what could possibly go wrong with a redux of this combination, right?

Callaghan, according to his website, "is bringing his chaotic and insightful universe to the stage" on a tour called "All Gas No Brakes." I've never been in rehab or to a Narcotics Anonymous meeting because I don't have the same demons Hunter does, but I suspect that if I did and I told my counselor and/or sponsor I was going joining a social media influencer on a tour described thusly, I'd be sat down for a long talk. But again, I stress that I don't know how these arrangements work.

Somehow -- somehow! -- this gets even crazier, as Hunter posted a video to TikTok promoting his participation in said tour, as well as what form that participation might take.

“I think he’s trying to organize a cage match, me versus Eric and Don Jr.," Hunter said, referring to the two eldest Trump sons.

“I told him I’d do it — 100 percent in — if he can pull it off. And if he can’t, I’m still coming."

Hunter Biden announces that he wants to do a cage match with Don Jr. and Eric Trump.

You couldn’t pay me enough to be near whatever is coursing through Hunter’s veins.

(channel5tiktok on TT) pic.twitter.com/nkhLJacF6F

— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) April 9, 2026

If that doesn't happen (spoiler alert: It won't) he promised that Callaghan "will have a lot of other surprises up his sleeve."

To be fair, Hunter has at least some reason to believe that cage-fighting first sons isn't a bad idea, at least on his end.

First off, he's already suffered all the brain damage he's going to need in this life, so it's not like he's putting something on the line here.

Secondly, his avenues for other remunerative employment are, um, bleak. He was a lawyer and political consultant of various stripes before his history with drugs and sex workers became his calling card, but those avenues were always tied to a peculiar degree to his father's areas of influence, which have been reduced to zero.

This was also true with his subsequent napkin-doodling career, otherwise referred to by friendly media sources as "artwork." The only people who bought that -- literally and figuratively -- were apparently Democrats who had every reason to get in with his father.

He tried his hand as a memoirist, but his frank description of his drug use in the book actually helped make the case he was guilty of a crime by lying on a federal gun purchase application form about being a drug addict at the time he got the firearm. So writing's out, too.

Also, I'm guessing taking up laptop repair might bring up some bad vibes from the olden times.

And therein lies the problem: Hunter's kind of hard up for cash right now, shocker of shockers.

Despite taking in $1.5 million in the early years of the Biden administration, the New York Post reported, March documents filed by Hunter's lawyers basically say he's broke and living abroad, which I'm sure has nothing to do with the fact that being on another continent does make it harder for creditors to reach you.

(It's unclear where he's residing at the moment -- although he's been spotted with his wife and their young son in the country of her birth, South Africa, with the Secret Service in tow.)

“Neither we nor our client know the ultimate amount owed,” Hunter's current lawyers said in the March filings, which were in response a suit from Hunter's former lawyers over the fact that he hasn't paid them. (It cannot be emphasized enough just how much of this stuff belies parody.)

“Our client is impecunious," wrote Hunter's present lawyer, Barry Coburn, in response to the suit filed by the firm of Abbe Lowell, Hunter's former high-powered Washington attorney. "We have not engaged a billing consultant or forensic accountant to review the bills, just as we have not engaged an e-discovery vendor. We cannot afford it."

That's indeed a toughie. If the Trump kids won't accept the offer, maybe Abbe Lowell will agree to a cage-match to settle the bill? Merely a thought.

The impeachment hearings, which are centered around the conduct of both Democratic politicians regarding the state's entitlement-scam scandal, could bring a trial in the state Senate.

The Minnesota House Freedom Caucus announced in a "quick update" that the impeachment hearings will begin on April 15.

"It is confirmed that we have impeachment hearings next week, Wednesday, in Rules Committee," legislators said in the video. "Please tune in."

BREAKING IMPEACHMENT NEWS: The Minnesota House Freedom Caucus has just announced that impeachment hearings for Tim Walz and Keith Ellison will begin next Wednesday, April 15.pic.twitter.com/uOPtN1ol41

— The Western Journal (@WesternJournalX) April 10, 2026

While Walz has declared he won't seek another term as governor after the Feeding Our Futures scandal unraveled in the last half of 2025, Minnesota Republicans decided earlier this year that they want him gone before his term is out in January of next year.

A House resolution filed last month would impeach Walz "for corrupt conduct in office" due to "concealing or permitting others to conceal widespread fraud within Minnesota state-administered programs despite repeated warnings, audits, reports, and public indicators of systematic abuse."

The articles added he "was made aware, through briefings, audits, agency reports, or public findings, of substantial and ongoing fraud involving taxpayer money within state programs; failed to take timely and effective action to halt fraud in state programs despite possessing executive authority to do so; allowed fraudulent activity to continue after credible warnings were raised; and created or tolerated an environment in which disclosure of fraud was delayed, minimized, or obscured from legislators and the public."

The articles against Ellison will be similar, KMSP-TV reported last month, along with "crimes and misdemeanors" related to his conduct in office.

GOP state Rep. Mike Wiener, who authored drafts of the resolutions, also said that Ellison had been active in "undermining" the FACE Act by defending protesters who entered a church in St. Paul during protests in the city; several individuals, including former CNN journalist Don Lemon, now face charges in that case.

However, as KTTC-TV reports, both impeachment and removal are difficult hurdles for Republicans in the state legislature.

Impeachment itself is the far easier hurdle, as the House -- which votes on whether or not the governor and attorney general should be impeached -- is divided evenly between Republicans and Democratic-Farmer-Labor representatives, 67 each.

(In Minnesota, Democrats go under the name "Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party" due to a 1940s merger between the Democrats and a Minnesota-only progressive party which often split the vote between left-leaning candidates in the state.)

Theoretically, then, only one DFL vote would be needed if the Republicans voted as a bloc in order to impeach Walz and/or Ellison.

However, the DFL controls the Senate by a single seat -- 34 to 33 -- and a supermajority of 45 votes would be needed to convict either one.

Whatever the case, an impeachment trial would constitute a massive fall from grace for Walz, a two-term governor whose popularity -- and whose use of the catchphrase "weird" to describe Republicans -- rocketed him from relative obscurity to Kamala Harris' running mate in the summer of 2024.

A lackluster showing in the vice presidential debate, combined with buyers remorse over not picking Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro after Harris lost that swing state, dulled Walz's star somewhat after the election was over.

Then came the unraveling of the Feeding Our Futures scandal, in which dozens of nonprofit operators -- mostly in Minneapolis' Somali community -- were charged and convicted for stealing what's estimated to be tens of billions of dollars in money from COVID-era free-meal programs.

After investigations uncovered what appeared to be similar fraud in childcare centers and autism treatment in Minnesota's tight-knit Somali community, Walz announced that he would halt a run for a third term and would retire from politics for good.

The soft, spring Georgia air, the unmistakable sound of a club striking a golf ball, the low murmur of a respectful gallery -- it all blends into something closer to a tradition than a broadcast, a setting where even the quiet feels intentional and every moment carries a certain weight.

For fans, that atmosphere isn’t just background noise -- it’s the point. The Masters has long stood apart precisely because it resists the urge to "evolve" into something flashier or more overproduced. It’s golf as ceremony, not spectacle, where the focus stays squarely on the course, the players, and the slow, deliberate rhythm that defines the sport at its highest level.

Which is why this year’s coverage from ESPN has struck such a nerve.

ESPN has come under immense scrutiny for its coverage of this year's Masters, bucking tradition in favor of something... louder.

Literally no one wants this. Stop ruining The Masters. https://t.co/e1XhBjnirw

— Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) April 9, 2026

The most noticeable issue for the event was ESPN's proliferation of especially blaring celebrities like former NFL standout Jason Kelce, comedian Kevin Hart, and the network's own jester, Pat McAfee.

"Literally no one wants this," one X account, sharing a particularly deafening Kelce clip, posted. "Stop ruining The Masters."

"What an embarrassing joke," another account posted, this one sharing a clip of Hart and his not-so-prodigious golf skills:

What an embarrassing joke https://t.co/jszfh6ZhQq

— JL (@JLas43_) April 8, 2026

A different X account summed it up rather well (and deservedly got tens of thousands of likes): "Having Pat McAfee, Jason Kelce, Bert Kreischer and Kevin Hart at The Masters is the epitome of ESPN's cultural degradation of sports. Augusta National should be the ultimate place of dignity and reverence and these ignominious dullards debase it with their sophomorish hijinks."

For all the viral clips and social media outrage, what’s really bothering golf purists isn’t just a few loud guests, but rather what those guests represent. The Masters Tournament has never been about chasing relevance or courting attention. It has endured precisely because it refuses to bend, because it treats tradition as a standard worth preserving.

That’s a mindset that will sound familiar to any conservative who values tradition in a culture increasingly obsessed with disruption. There was a time when institutions -- whether in sports, the arts, or public life -- felt a responsibility to honor what came before, to build on it rather than tear it down in pursuit of something louder, faster, or more clickable.

What’s happening now, at least in microcosm, is something different. The push to inject celebrity antics and viral energy into a setting like Augusta is ultimately about reshaping it to fit a culture that struggles to sit still, to appreciate restraint, or to find meaning in quiet excellence. The result is something more flat, less rooted, and ultimately less memorable.

And that’s why the backlash feels sharper than your typical sports media gripe. Because when even a place as fiercely protective of its identity as The Masters starts to feel the pull of that cultural drift, it raises a broader question: if this isn’t safe from it, what is?

In the end, this isn’t really about ESPN, or even about a handful of celebrities trying to have a good time on a golf course. It’s about whether institutions like The Masters will continue to stand as rare holdouts for tradition and dignity, or whether they’ll slowly be reshaped into just another piece of disposable entertainment.

Because once something that timeless starts chasing the moment, it risks losing the very thing that made it matter in the first place.

President Donald Trump and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi probably won't be exchanging warm Christmas cards anytime soon. The same is likely true of the commander-in-chief and New York Sen. Chuck Schumer. And that all likely goes doubly true for Trump and Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar.

But there's another feud, perhaps not nearly as well-known, that goes up there -- and it doesn't involve the president.

Rather, First Lady Melania Trump has one notably icy feud with Anna Wintour, the former editor-in-chief of Vogue who stepped down from her post in 2025. She's now the global chief content officer and artistic director at major media titan Condé Nast.

Vogue notably didn't give Melania a commemorative first lady cover during Wintour's reign, making Melania Trump a glaring exception to the tradition.

But for as deep as the disdain apparently goes between Trump and Wintour, the reason this feud is not on most people's radar likely has to do with the fact that neither woman has ever made a spectacle of it.

Melania Trump has mostly treated the fashion magazine as being beneath her contempt, at least publicly.

Wintour, meanwhile, has been a bit more subtle in critiquing the first lady, often doing it through proxies, or through more subtle comments, like the ones published Tuesday.

In an interview with the magazine she ran for decades, Wintour publicly broached the subject of the first lady after bringing up the wife of progressive New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

"I’m full of admiration for New York City’s new first lady because she looks so cool and wears a lot of vintage -- young and modern and also entirely herself," Wintour said. "To be fair, Melania Trump also always looks like herself when she dresses."

Actress Meryl Streep, who was joining Wintour for the interview and is no fan of the Trump family, used that moment to peddle a long-dispelled line of attack on Melania.

"I have so many thoughts about this," Streep, also 76, said. "I think the most… powerful message that our current first lady sent was in the coat that said 'I Really Don’t Care, Do U?' when she was going to see migrant children who were incarcerated."

"All dress is about expressing yourself, but we’re also subject to larger historical and political sweeps of expectation," Streep added.

That specific quip involved a photo of the first lady during the president's first term, where she donned a green jacket emblazoned with those words:

Melania Trump wore a jacket that literally says "I really don't care. Do u?" on her way to visit a child detention center in Texas. She reportedly changed outfits after she got off the plane. pic.twitter.com/3yUuroFNPb

— NowThis Impact (@nowthisimpact) June 21, 2018

The idea that Melania was somehow "expressing" herself with that outfit drew swift condemnation from the first lady's camp.

“The First Lady has already addressed and debunked the narrative in her memoir, MELANIA,” Marc Beckman, the senior adviser for the first lady, told Breitbart. “The real story is not a jacket from years ago -- it is First Lady Melania Trump’s leadership.”

Beckman called Streep's jab "misplaced" and "outdated," while also noting just how much work Melania Trump had done for children during her husband's second term.

That work, per Beckman, included "four reunifications of Ukrainian and Russian children with their families; bolstered Fostering the Future, her national university network supporting individuals from the foster care community," and other efforts.

What started as a long-simmering, largely unspoken tension between Melania Trump and Anna Wintour ultimately spilled into something far more familiar in modern political culture: a celebrity-driven sideshow that says more about the commentators than the subject.

Wintour’s carefully phrased aside opened the door, but it was Streep’s well-worn critique that barged through it.

What’s telling is how quickly the conversation drifted from anything substantive about Melania's record to a recycled talking point that’s been litigated for years. While her team pointed to concrete efforts, her critics reached back for a moment tailor-made for viral outrage and little else.

The entirely childish and catty sniping from just one side of this rivalry also underscores a broader pattern where figures like Streep and tastemakers in Condé Nast-adjacent circles seem far more comfortable critiquing symbolism than engaging with substance, even -- or perhaps especially -- when that substance cuts against the narrative.

In the end, the dynamic between Wintour and Trump says plenty on its own, without the need for guest appearances or recycled barbs. One built a career shaping cultural approval from the top down; the other has largely ignored that ecosystem altogether.

And if this latest flare-up proves anything, it’s that staying above the fray may be the more effective play. Because when the loudest critiques lean on years-old controversies instead of present-day realities, it only reinforces the sense that Melania Trump's critics have little new to say.

But for politicians of your own party to begin raising questions about you and your gubernatorial candidacy in a very public forum? Something had to have seriously gone wrong -- or it's primary season.

Both are the case for California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, one of many high-profile names vying for the position that will be vacated when incumbent California Gov. Gavin Newsom terms out.

Swalwell has been besieged by social media rumors claiming that a group of women were planning on coming forward with allegations of sexual misconduct involving staffers, per CNN.

Interestingly enough, these salacious allegations appear to have stemmed from a liberal activist, Cheyenne Hunt.

I have been working with a number of women who are in the process of coming forward and sharing their stories of sexual harassment and even alleged abuse at the hands of Eric Swalwell. Here’s why we’re talking about it before mainstream media: 🧵

— Cheyenne Hunt (@CheyenneHuntCA) April 6, 2026

"I have been working with a number of women who are in the process of coming forward and sharing their stories of sexual harassment and even alleged abuse at the hands of Eric Swalwell," Hunt posted to X on Monday.

In a series of follow-up posts, Hunt made a number of allegations, including that the first victim was "a close friend," and that she wanted women "to know that they were not alone and that someone had their backs if they came forward."

Hunt also dressed down Swalwell's character, accusing the progressive lawmaker of "manipulation and abuse of power," and of targeting "employees, interns, and fans" by acting "as a mentor just to exploit that power."

The Swalwell campaign fired back against these allegations in a biting statement to CNN -- and seemed to suggest that this was the work of pro-Donald Trump conservatives.

“This false, outrageous rumor is being spread 27 days before an election begins by flailing opponents who have sadly teamed up with MAGA conspiracy theorists because they know Eric Swalwell is the frontrunner in this race,” Micah Beasley, the campaign communications director for Swalwell, remarked.

Beasley also specifically denied the claim that one of these women had been silenced via a non-disclosure agreement.

Despite the strong denials -- and likely due in no small part to the looming California primary -- some of Swalwell's fellow Democrats seem to be buying it.

That includes fellow gubernatorial candidate and liberal lawmaker Katie Porter.

"With regard to Congressman Swalwell, I have seen allegations coming from women staffers. They are very, very troubling allegations," Porter said during a television appearance, according to CBS News. "It is those women's stories to tell when they are ready, and I hope that they feel safe and supported if they choose to do so."

Former Los Angeles Mayor (and another gubernatorial candidate) Antonio Villaraigosa also ripped Swalwell, and condemned the representative's work of late:

If you want to be Governor, you can’t hide when the questions get tough. But this is an ongoing pattern for Eric Swalwell. He skipped today’s forum to avoid questions from reporters for the same reason he skipped 68% of his votes in Congress since announcing his run for Governor.

— Antonio Villaraigosa (@AVillaraigosa) April 9, 2026

"I’m very disappointed in Eric Swalwell," Villaraigosa posted on Thursday. "As more and more women come forward with sexual harassment allegations, Swalwell skipped town to avoid facing tough questions about these allegations."

"If you want to be Governor, you can't hide when the questions get tough," Villaraigosa said in a follow-up post. "But this is an ongoing pattern for Eric Swalwell. He skipped today’s forum to avoid questions from reporters for the same reason he skipped 68% of his votes in Congress since announcing his run for Governor."

California operates a unique primary system where only the top two finishers advance to the general election -- regardless of party affiliation, as noted by CNN.

The outlet further reported that the crowded Democratic field (there are just two Republican candidates, with one having been endorsed by Trump already) has some in the party fearing "a doomsday scenario in which none of the party’s candidates finish in the top two in the primary."

In his post titled "The Apocalypse is Here," Moore accused President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of threatening a "holocaust" against Iran and reminded his readers that the U.S. was the only nation ever to use nuclear weapons in battle, which it did to end World War II with strikes on Japan.

"America, a country 250 years old, and the only nation sick and violent enough to have ever used a nuclear weapon, in partnership with Israel, a nation younger than Mick Jagger and Bugs Bunny, and the only nuclear armed nation in its region, are on the verge of wiping one of the oldest civilizations off the map," Moore wrote.

Apparently, the "Fahrenheit 9/11" documentarian was suggesting the U.S. and Israel are willing to go nuclear against Iran. He must have missed that the whole point of the war was to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, so it could make good on its oft-repeated threat to wipe Israel off the map.

"We’re the bad guys! If you didn’t realize that under previous presidents at least Donald Trump has ripped off the mask and shown you who we really are!" Moore asserted.

"[O]ur leaders and our media are stupid enough to keep asking questions like 'why do they hate us?' Hate us?! They don’t hate US! WE HATE THEM!" he added.

The Iranian regime is the one that has been for decades chanting "Death to America," which it refers to as the "Great Satan," and "Death to Israel," which it calls the "Little Satan."

It's safe to say neither the U.S. nor Israel has any intention of going nuclear against Iran, or they would have done so already. Both ideally want to see a regime change, with a secular one taking over that is willing to live at peace with its neighbors in the region and the world.

For decades, Iran has been funding terrorist organizations in the region, like Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis, whose sole mission is to destroy Israel. And through its proxies, Tehran is also responsible for the deaths and maimings of thousands of Americans.

If Iran had not engaged in this conduct, while actively pursuing nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them, the U.S. and Israel would have had no reason to strike Iran.

Nonetheless, Moore wrote, "Weeks after an illegal, immoral, unjustified attack by America and Israel, America’s terrorist Commander-in-Chief – not satisfied with just killing hundreds of schoolgirls at an elementary school, bombing universities, medical centers, and civilian infrastructure – now wants to go for it all."

Moore is clearly refusing to address the fact that the Iranian government just a few months ago gunned down tens of thousands of its own citizens, who dared to take to the streets and protest the regime's oppressive, destructive policies.

NEW FOOTAGE EXPOSES SCALE OF IRAN’S JANUARY UPRISING

Massive crowds heard chanting “DEATH TO THE DICTATOR” in Karaj, Iran.

Only now surfacing after regime-imposed internet blackouts kept the country in the dark and concealed the true scale of unrest. pic.twitter.com/mm3WVAP8ti

— Tousi TV (@TousiTVOfficial) April 9, 2026

Moore's allegation of the U.S. and Israel being the evil countries in the present conflict came in direct response to a Tuesday Truth Social post Trump made in which he wrote, "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?"

"We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!"

Trump's point was that the 47-year-old Islamic Republic's regime was going to end, and he voiced his desire to see the "Great People of Iran" liberated from it.

In the previous days, he indicated that the massive air campaign the U.S. military would unleash would focus on targeting bridges, power plants, and other infrastructure.

The history of modern aerial warfare, dating back to World War II, has meant targeting the enemy’s ability to function, produce war materials, and transport them to the battlefield.

Trump's use of strong rhetoric was intended to bring Iran to the negotiating table, which it succeeded in doing, with the commander in chief announcing a two-week ceasefire on Tuesday.

Moore would be wise to take a seat. Given the evil in the world, peace often has to be achieved on the other side of war.

Peace is certainly what Trump wants, and God willing, that will happen.

The first lady has gone to court in the past to push back against anyone who wrongly linked her with Epstein, getting apologies and retractions from HarperCollins UK, the Daily Beast, and Democratic Party strategist James Carville.

On Thursday, she took the offensive, saying that “the lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today,” according to comments posted to the White House website.

“The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility, and respect. I do not object to their ignorance, but rather, I reject their mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation,” she said.

🚨 BREAKING: In a massive moment, First Lady Melania Trump demands Congress allow Epstein's survivors to PUBLICLY TESTIFY about what happened to them, saying Epstein did NOT act alone

WOW! This is about to ROCK DC

"Now is the time for Congress to ACT. Epstein was NOT alone.… pic.twitter.com/pHxZM8PwdU

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 9, 2026

Melania Trump said appearing at the same parties as Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, was an unavoidable reality of the social whirl of New York City and Palm Beach.

“I have never been friends with Epstein,” she said, adding, “To be clear, I never had a relationship with Epstein or his accomplice, Maxwell.”

She referenced a 2002 chatty email to Maxwell that appeared in the Epstein files. In it, according to the Independent, she wrote, “Dear G! How are you? Nice story about JE in NY mag. You look great on the picture."

"I know you are very busy flying all over the world. How was Palm Beach? I cannot wait to go down. Give me a call when you are back in NY. Have a great time!” the email added.

As noted by PBS, that was three years before any investigation into Epstein’s relationships with underage girls began.

“My email reply to Maxwell cannot be categorized as anything more than casual correspondence. My polite reply to her email doesn’t amount to anything more than a trivial note,” Melania Trump said in her Thursday statement.

The first lady made it clear that however media outlets try to conjure up a connection, they will be wrong.

“I am not Epstein’s victim. Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump. I met my husband, by chance, at a New York City party in 1998. This initial encounter with my husband is documented in detail in my book, ‘Melania,’” she said.

When Melania Trump speaks with such grace and poise, the world listens.

Justice for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein.

— Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) April 9, 2026

“The first time I crossed paths with Epstein was in the year 2000, at an event Donald and I attended together. At the time, I had never met Epstein and had no knowledge of his criminal undertakings,” she continued.

“Numerous fake images and statements about Epstein and me have been circulating on social media for years now. Be cautious about what you believe. These images and stories are completely false.”

A Statement by First Lady Melania Trump https://t.co/BjiLZMdaKM

— First Lady Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) April 9, 2026

“I am not a witness or a named witness in connection with any of Epstein’s crimes.  My name has never appeared in court documents, depositions, victim statements, or FBI interviews surrounding the Epstein matter. I have never had any knowledge of Epstein’s abuse of his victims. I was never involved in any capacity -- I was not a participant, was never on Epstein’s plane, and never visited his private island,” she said, adding, “I have never been legally accused or convicted of a crime in connection with Epstein’s sex trafficking, abuse of minors, and other repulsive behavior.”

“The false smears about me from mean-spirited and politically motivated individuals and entities looking to cause damage to my good name to gain financially and climb politically must stop,” she said, noting her success and the legal battles that have cleared her name.

She called for action from Washington.

“Now is the time for Congress to act. Epstein was not alone. Several prominent male executives resigned from their powerful positions after this matter became widely politicized. Of course, this doesn’t amount to guilt, but we still must work openly and transparently to uncover the truth,” she remarked.

“I call on Congress to provide the women who have been victimized by Epstein with a public hearing specifically centered around the survivors. Give these victims their opportunity to testify under oath in front of Congress, with the power of sworn testimony. Each and every woman should have her day to tell her story in public, if she wishes, and then her testimony should be permanently entered into the Congressional Record,” she said.

“Then, and only then, will we have the truth."

Fox posted on social media in response, "How do you react when you turn on the TV and CNN is reporting your death? Do you… A) switch to MNSBC, or whatever they are calling themselves these days, (B) Pour scolding hot water on your lap, if it hurts your fine, (C) Call your wife, hopefully she’s concerned but reassuring, (D) Relax, they do this once every year, (E) Ask yourself wtf ?"

"I thought the world was ending, but apparently it’s just me and I’m ok. Love, Mike."

Fox -- who has suffered from Parkinson's Disease since 1991, when he was 29 -- just appeared Tuesday evening with Harrison Ford and other actors from the Apple TV series "Shrinking" as part of a panel at PaleyFest in Los Angeles.

The 64-year-old was captured on video giving a hug to Harrison Ford.

Harrison Ford gives a hug to his old friend Michael J Fox who made a surprise appearance for the show 'Shrinking' pic.twitter.com/2e8NYECRJb

— TaraBull (@TaraBull) April 8, 2026

People reported that a CNN spokesperson said in a statement regarding its false reporting of Fox's death, “The package was published in error; we have removed it from our platforms and send our apologies to Michael J. Fox and his family."

In the errant video CNN aired, the narrator said of Fox, "He came into our living rooms on the small screen each week as Alex P. Keaton [on Family Ties] and eventually onto the big screen as Marty McFly in [Back to the Future]," per the outlet. “But Michael J. Fox had a compelling third act as Parkinson's sufferer and stem cell research advocate," according to People.

The actor started the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research following his diagnosis.

"Back to the Future" topped the box office in ticket sales in 1985. It was released while Fox still starred as the conservative son Alex of ex-1960s hippie liberal parents in "Family Ties."

Fox had announced his retirement from acting in 2020, due to the progression of Parkinson's he was dealing with, but returned to the small screen for a guest appearance in season 3 of "Shrinking," which was released in January.

He also had a small voice role in "Zootopia 2" last year.

Fox told Variety in 2023 that he has medical staff supporting him.

“I’m still happy to join the day and be a part of things,” Fox said. “I just enjoy the little math problems of existence. I love waking up and figuring that stuff out and at the same time being with my family. My problem is I fall down. I trip over things and fall down and break things. And that’s part of having this."

"But I hope that, and I feel that, I won’t break as many bones tomorrow. So that’s being optimistic,” he added.

The false reporting of Fox's death was reminiscent of U.S. newspapers in 1897 reporting that author and humorist Mark Twain was on his deathbed.

Twain reportedly cabled in response from England, “Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”

Twain lived for over a decade beyond the false reports of his demise, dying in 1910 at 74 years old.

NBC News reported Thursday that the federal government is investigating whether the NFL is charging consumers too much, now that games are broadcast across multiple streaming platforms that require paid subscriptions.

The story cited two unnamed sources who are "familiar with the investigation."

The Justice Department’s investigation into the NFL is “about affordability for consumers and creating an even playing field for providers,” one government official told the outlet.

Regulators, lawmakers, and media outlets have voiced concerns over the past several years about how difficult it has become for consumers to watch their preferred sports games as a result of these new rights deals.

In early March, Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah sent a letter to Acting Assistant Attorney General Omeed A. Assefi and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson about "a new trend in televised sports that may harm American sports fans."

"To watch every NFL game during this past season, football fans spent almost $1,000 on cable and streaming subscriptions," Lee wrote.

He added, "In practice, this requires subscribing to multiple streaming services and maintaining high-speed internet in addition to a traditional cable or satellite bundle.

The resulting fragmentation has produced consumer confusion and increasing costs for viewers attempting to watch their teams."

Exclusive: The NFL is under investigation by the Justice Department over its broadcasting deals https://t.co/SQxG6moOrJ

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) April 9, 2026

The Utah Republican cited the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, which granted limited antitrust immunity to allow professional football teams to "collectively license the 'sponsored telecasts' of their games to national broadcast networks."

However, he said the "modern distribution environment differs substantially from the conditions that precipitated this exemption" and argued that paywalls and streaming services amount to a setup that "may no longer align with the statutory concept of sponsored telecasting or the consumer-access rationale underlying the antitrust exemption."

"Accordingly, I request that your antitrust enforcement agencies examine the Sports Broadcasting Act and its applicability to the current media landscape," Lee concluded.

He also commented after news of the investigation broke.

“Much has changed in sports broadcasting since 1961, raising new questions about the NFL’s antitrust exemption," the GOP lawmaker said.

"I’m glad the DOJ is tackling this important issue, as I urged them to do last month."

The protests began Tuesday with roadblocks in Dublin and other cities, as well as slow-moving vehicles deliberately clogging Irish highways, according to GB News. Irish gas stations that cannot be resupplied due to the blockades are running out of gasoline and diesel fuel.

Garda Deputy Commissioner Shawna Coxon said protesters must "desist and disperse,” calling for them to “immediately cease blockades of such critical national infrastructure or face the full rigors of the law."

The clogs have grown so severe that travelers to Dublin’s airport are walking along roadways as they haul their luggage, according to the BBC.

The Irish government have announced they're sending in the "Defence Forces" to remove farmers and lorry drivers protesting across the country.

They can bring in the army to remove struggling workers yet not defend borders?

High treason! pic.twitter.com/VEepDng03n

— Tommy Robinson 🇬🇧 (@TRobinsonNewEra) April 9, 2026

Irish Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan said there would be legal consequences for the protesters, suggesting they could face issues with insurance or having driving licenses renewed.

Ireland’s National Emergency Coordination Group said protesters were causing "significant disruption.”

Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin said the protest tactic of clogging roads and blocking access to gas stations was "not a fair form of protest.”

Irish Defense Minister Helen McEntee said some protests were "now crossing into criminal behaviour."

"There are genuine people there with genuine concerns… but those involved in protests who are actively blocking and preventing people from accessing fuel… they have to stop,” McEntee said.

She noted that military intervention was "never a first resort," according to GB News.

James Geoghegan, a representative of the protesters, said his fuel bill would not be affordable unless prices fall, according to the BBC.

"We simply can't afford that," he said. "We're only a small business. We can't pass that on to the farmers."

John Dallon, another representative of the protesters, said that "the people of Ireland are not happy with the government."

🚨🇮🇪 URGENT: The Irish government has officially deployed the Irish army to the streets to disperse anti-government protests. Farmers and truck drivers are protesting against rising fuel costs and carbon taxes. pic.twitter.com/LqjAUrub2z

— Sofia Senna (@SofiaSenna38556) April 9, 2026

Despite government pressure, the People of Ireland Against Fuel Prices Protest said demonstrations will continue Friday, according to the Irish Times.

“This is now the fourth date of protest and it will continue until the Government listen to the people of Ireland. The Government really need to engage with us to stop this,” the group said in a statement.

“Remember we did not cause this and it is only going to get bigger and bigger every week if it comes to it,” the statement said.

The alleged shooter, Phoenix Ikner, has been accused of killing two people and wounding six others.

The A.I. chatbot “may have advised the shooter how to commit these heinous crimes,” according to the law firm representing the family of Robert Morales, who was killed during the attack back in April 2025.

“We have been advised that the shooter was in constant communication with ChatGPT leading up to the shooting,” the law firm of Brooks, LeBoeuf, Foster, Gwartney, and Hobbs told WCTV in a statement.

"We also have reason to believe that ChatGPT may have advised the shooter how to commit these heinous crimes," the statement continued. "We will therefore file suit against ChatGPT, and its ownership structure, very soon, and will seek to hold them accountable for the untimely and senseless death of our client, Mr. Morales."

OpenAI, which owns ChatGPT, said it "identified a ChatGPT account believed to be associated with the suspect" following the shooting, and "proactively shared this information with law enforcement and cooperated with authorities."

“We built ChatGPT to understand people’s intent and respond in a safe and appropriate way, and we continue improving our technology,” the statement concluded.

Morales’ lawyers also sent the Leon County Sheriff’s office a letter back in September, stating that it too could be held liable, after Ikner was allowed to participate in LCSO’s Youth Advisory Council, where he “was allegedly taught about firearms and displayed behavior that should’ve raised concerns," WCTV reported.

“Mr. Ikner was not mentally stable and should not be around guns, much less taught how to use them,” the law firm's letter read. "The Leon County Sheriff’s Office’s handling of Mr. Ikner, as described more fully herein, was at least part of the cause of the murder of Mr. Robert Morales."

This is not the first time ChatGPT has been highlighted following the commission of a crime.

In June 2025, certain ChatGPT users who were relying on the service to deal with emotional issues were reportedly committed to psychiatric institutions after developing an unhealthy fixation on the bot.

In August 2025, the parents of a dead teenager in Orange County, California, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI after ChatGPT allegedly encouraged the 16-year-old to commit suicide.

And in March of this year, the parents of a girl who was critically wounded in a school shooting in Canada alleged in a civil lawsuit that OpenAI knew the shooter was planning a mass attack but didn't share the information with law enforcement.

On Tuesday, a broadcast from GB News was posted to social media platform X about two immigrant cousins described as "Pakistani grooming gang rapists" who were convicted after sexually abusing and grooming young girls.

Their legal fees -- around £150,000, the equivalent of over $200,000 in U.S. dollars -- were covered by the British taxpayers.

GB News reported that the costs could go higher, as every claim from legal representatives for the two men has not been processed.

🚨BREAKING: The British government are paying money to pakistani grooming gang rapists for legal fees.

This is literally INSANE. pic.twitter.com/xfur6ao4VP

— God Save Great Britain (@GSGB01) April 7, 2026

The Manchester Evening News provided more details on the two men.

Manzorr Hussain, 54,  and his cousin, 53-year-old Imtiaz Ali, committed these crimes in the late 1990s.

Prosecutor Anna Pope gave specifics. "These defendants each played their part in the grooming and sexual abuse of six teenage girls. The sexual offending took place in houses, a hotel, or sometimes in a car or a van.

"A number of the girls were particularly vulnerable. They had troubled backgrounds. These defendants took advantage of their personal situations and provided them with drink, drugs, lifts, a place to spend time and company.

"This was all part of the grooming process. The girls were made to feel like they owed something to these men in return. The sexual activity which then took place was not with their true consent."

Manzoor sent one victim into an apartment room furnished with nothing but a dirty mattress. He then had six different men come in, one by one, to abuse her.

Another victim read an impact statement about the abuse and its impact on her.  "I was shamed. I was ashamed. I was labelled. These crimes made me feel disgusting and dirty. I felt like a lesser person. I have lived in a perpetual cycle of fear.

"They stole my identity before it had a chance to ever fully form. I am now free. I know now there is nothing wrong with me -- there is something wrong with you. That shame should never have been mine to carry; it was all yours."

Hussain was convicted on seven counts of rape and seven counts of indecent assault and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Ali was found guilty of five counts of rape, five counts of indecent assault, and one count of attempted indecent assault. His sentence was 28 years.

A third suspect, identified as Hussain's older brother Ghulam Hussain, 64, was referred to as the "main man" in the abuse case, and authorities charged him with a "number of sexual offences," but jurors were told he had fled the coumtry.

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the offending parties are pure evil, but their case is also reassuring to any other monster.

Immigrants can come to the U.K., unleash their disgusting pedophilic tendencies, and have their legal fees paid, likely getting a sentence in a prison that would afford them a higher standard of living than they would enjoy as free men in their own countries.

You can enjoy all the rights and protections -- arguably more -- that a native Brit can, doing nothing but wreaking havoc and misery.

For all the rhetoric we're forced to hear about immigrants enriching societies, this case shows they are measurably a loss to society.

The costs of unvetted immigration policies are vast: Citizens are having their lives destroyed. They are being suppressed by their government if they speak out, and the taxpayer foots the bill if any of these people are brought to justice.

In a clip posted Wednesday to the social media platform X, Democratic Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado revealed that he personally has begun to compile "lists of people" in President Donald Trump's administration who "need to have oversight and accountability."

Crow made that announcement on MS NOW, where he also said that his fellow Democrats have done likewise.

"Well, accountability will come, sooner or later," the congressman said. "You can't hide from that. We are taking names."

After touting his own "lists of people" to target, Crow issued a warning.

"It is so important right now that people understand that if you're in this administration and you're asked to violate the law, or violate your oath, or turn your back on the Constitution, that you will be judged, one way or another, at some point or another. You cannot escape it forever."

Finally, Crow told his targets that they will have nowhere to hide while Democrats seek "accountability."

Dem Rep Jason Crow says he and Democrats are making "lists of people” to go after in the Trump administration.

“You will be judged. You cannot escape it forever."

These very same people have looked into every legacy media camera available for 15 months to tell you how… pic.twitter.com/GyzTzchnu7

— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) April 8, 2026

During former President Joe Biden's administration, Democrats engaged in censorship, lawfare, and other acts of tyranny.

For instance, Biden officials pressured social media companies to remove content that challenged official narratives, particularly on COVID-19.

Biden administration operatives also arrested journalists, terrorized parents, and threw pro-life activists into prison.

In response to the Capitol incursion of Jan. 6, 2021, Democrats launched a vicious campaign of retribution.

Moreover, Democrats threw two former Trump administration officials in prison and even used lawfare to try to incarcerate the then-former president himself.

Meanwhile, the second Trump administration has taken very little action against those Democrats.

Early in his second term, the president did pardon the Jan. 6 political prisoners. But Trump's Department of Justice has not sought justice on those victims' behalf.

Likewise, in July 2025, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released documents that detailed the origins of the Democrats' Russia collusion hoax, what she called a "treasonous conspiracy" that began in the waning days of President Barack Obama's administration. No one, however, has gone to jail over that conspiracy.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina did express outrage when he learned that former special counsel Jack Smith and others had monitored his phone records in 2023. Neither Graham nor many other GOP legislators, however, showed half so much passion when ordinary Americans had their rights violated.

Finally, no Biden administration official has suffered consequences for illegally abetting the years-long migrant invasion.

Thus, should Crow and the Democrats make good on their retribution pledge, they will follow the Biden model, not the Trump model.

For instance, Rep. María Elvira Salazar, a Republican from Florida, insisted on Thursday against all evidence that her proposed "DIGNIDAD Act" did not mean amnesty for illegal immigrants.

Meanwhile, conservatives on X, who cannot agree on much lately, united in their disdain for Salazar's amnesty bill.

In July 2025, Salazar tried in vain to guilt President Donald Trump into supporting her proposal.

Conservatives opposed her then, and they oppose her now. But that did not stop the lawmaker from pushing amnesty as "dignity."

"There’s a fundamental misconception about what 'amnesty' really means," Salazar wrote Thursday. "Amnesty is looking the other way: no consequences, no accountability, just more chaos. That’s the system we’ve had for decades. The Dignity Act ends it with enforcement, accountability, real penalties, and ZERO tolerance for criminals. That’s not amnesty. That’s law and order!"

There’s a fundamental misconception about what “amnesty” really means. Amnesty is looking the other way: no consequences, no accountability, just more chaos. That’s the system we’ve had for decades.

The Dignity Act ends it with enforcement, accountability, real penalties, and… pic.twitter.com/2SfE5msOPj

— Rep. María Elvira Salazar (@RepMariaSalazar) April 9, 2026

Data analyst Jennica Pounds, who goes by "DataRepublican" on X, expressed disbelief that Salazar tried to justify her amnesty nonsense.

"Really? You got schooled in the true institutional meaning of 'Dignity' and you're doubling down on it?" Pounds wrote.

Really? You got schooled in the true institutional meaning of "Dignity" and you're doubling down on it?

— DataRepublican (small r) (@DataRepublican) April 9, 2026

Meanwhile, "MOM of DataRepublican" entered the conversation and predicted a fresh wave of illegal immigration should the bill pass.

Then, Salazar tried to counter that assertion by posting more misleading claims.

No it won’t. It actually locks in permanent enforcement measures (border security, mandatory E-verify, and ends catch and release for asylum seekers).

None of these are currently codified in law, and until they are, they can keep being changed by the Executive. And therefore… https://t.co/5nuGrqqgOY

— Rep. María Elvira Salazar (@RepMariaSalazar) April 9, 2026

Happily, Salazar received no discernible support on X.

Many users simply pointed to the bill's text or to Salazar's own words and called her out on her gaslighting.

@data_republican is right, and there is no way you're going to be able to frame this to make it acceptable to the American people who actually understand what your bill says. pic.twitter.com/UGAYbpmx8k

— Amber (@AmberGirl3) April 9, 2026

You're the one who admitted this bill is a step towards granting illegal aliens CITIZENSHIP.

"Give them dignity. At some point in the future, another legislator will write another law to give them a path to citizenship."

Your words.

The dignity act is an amnesty bill. You can… pic.twitter.com/ffA02LGtde

— Shawn Farash (@Shawn_Farash) April 9, 2026

Of course, conservatives have long suspected amnesty proponents of sinister motives.

"Maria Salazar needs her slave labor!!!" one user wrote.

Maria Salazar needs her slave labor!!!

— Breanna Morello (@BreannaMorello) April 9, 2026

In truth, nearly all Democrats and some Republicans, particularly their donors, do regard illegal aliens as cheap labor.

Whether Salazar does too, we cannot say. But we can say that American patriots should regard her amnesty bill -- not to mention her lame efforts to justify it -- as beneath contempt.

Brian Hooker, 59, was arrested by the Royal Bahamas Police Force in connection with the disappearance of his wife, Lynette Hooker, 55.

Brian Hooker told authorities his wife went overboard while the two were in a dinghy in rough seas on Saturday night,

In a statement, according to NBC News, his attorney, Terrel A. Butler, said Hooker denied any wrongdoing and rejected allegations from Lynette Hooker’s daughter, Karli Aylesworth, doubting her stepfather's story that rough currents and wind kept him from rescuing his wife before she was swept out to sea.

The couple had been married about 25 years, and were experienced sailorsd, Aylesworth told CNN.

The U.S. Coast Guard said it has opened a criminal investigation into Lynette Hooker's disappearance. A Coast Guard official declined to comment further, according to NBC.

Hooker told authorities his wife had the keys to the boat with her when she fell overboard, causing the engine to shut off. As a result, he said, he had to paddle for hours to reach a harbor, according to NBC.

Lynette Hooker’s mother, Darlene Hamlett, says she wants some answers from Brian Hooker, according to the New York Post.

“I’m going to be interested in what he says, because I haven’t heard from him in almost two days,” she said.

Aylesworth has said that she believes “something might have happened” to her mother.

“There’s history of him choking her out and threatening to throw her overboard. So the fact that this is actually happening makes me believe there’s more to the story,” she said, according to the New York Post.

Police said Hooker was arrested “for additional questioning based on some probable cause we have,” according to CNN.

Brian Hooker said the last sighting he had of his wife came as she was swimming toward the shore, Richard Cook, fire team lead with Hope Town Volunteer Fire and Rescue, said.

Cook said a six-hour search early Sunday failed to find any trace of Lynette Hooker.

In a statement, Brian Hooker said finding his wife is his "sole focus."

“I am heartbroken over the recent boat accident in unpredictable seas and high winds that caused my beloved Lynette to fall from our small dinghy,” the statement said. “Despite desperate attempts to reach her, the winds and currents drove us further apart. We continue to search for her and that is my sole focus.”

Cook said Lynette Hooker was not wearing a flotation device when she went into the water.

Aylesworth said Brian Hooker told her in a voicemail that officials found a floatation device he had thrown her.

“My sole concern is to find out what happened to my mother and make sure a full and complete investigation is performed into her disappearance,” Aylesworth said, according to CNN.

“If this truly was an accident, I can understand and live with it. However, there needs to be an intensive review of the facts and circumstances of this tragic incident before that can be determined.”

“It just doesn’t add up why she was swimming away from the boat or why she had the keys,” she said. “I have known past issues between them have not been good, so it’s just weird that this is happening now.”

So said Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian early Thursday on the social media platform X.

"Israel's renewed incursion into Lebanon is a blatant violation of the initial ceasefire agreement," Pezeshkian wrote. "This is a dangerous sign of deception and lack of commitment to potential agreements. The continuation of these actions will render negotiations meaningless."

Then, Pezeshkian pledged to keep fighting on behalf of Lebanon.

"Our fingers remain on the trigger," he added. "Iran will never abandon its Lebanese sisters and brothers."

تجاوز دوباره رژیم صهیونیستی به لبنان نقض آشکار توافق اولیه آتش‌بس است. این نشانه خطرناکی از فریب و عدم پایبندی به توافقات احتمالی است. تداوم این اقدامات، مذاکره را بی‌معنا خواهد کرد. دست‌های ما بر ماشه باقی است. ایران هرگز خواهران و برادران لبنانی را تنها نخواهد گذاشت. https://t.co/T3Wy3qBqcE

— Masoud Pezeshkian (@drpezeshkian) April 9, 2026

According to The Times of Israel, Pezeshkian also told French President Emmanuel Macron that Iran's 10-point peace plan included a ceasefire in Lebanon.

Trump, however, has disputed that assertion.

"Yeah they were not included in the deal," the president said of Lebanon in a phone interview with PBS White House correspondent Liz Landers.

Landers posted Trump's comments to X.

A few minutes after the Pentagon briefing wrapped I spoke with President Trump briefly to ask about the latest with Iran: pic.twitter.com/tW0nYD1Vcs

— Liz Landers (@ElizLanders) April 8, 2026

When asked why the deal did not include Lebanon, Trump replied, "Because of Hezbollah."

"They were not included in the deal. That'll get taken care of, too. It's all right," the president added.

Finally, Landers asked if Trump approved of Israel's operation "Eternal Darkness."

"It's part of the deal -- everyone knows that," the president replied. "That's a separate skirmish. OK? You gotta talk faster."

Trump announced the two-week ceasefire on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Israel's escalation of attacks in Lebanon on Wednesday brought fresh criticism from prominent opponents of Trump's war against Iran.

"Netanyahu launches terror attack on Beirut, destroying Trump’s ceasefire," conservative commentator Tucker Carlson wrote by way of introduction to his latest podcast episode. "We need to detach from Israel immediately."

Netanyahu launches terror attack on Beirut, destroying Trump’s ceasefire. We need to detach from Israel immediately. pic.twitter.com/0pB1kUIaSb

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) April 9, 2026

Likewise, Amnesty International put out an "Urgent Call to Protect Civilians" in Lebanon.

"Even before today’s attack, which the Israeli military referred to as operation 'Eternal Darkness', more than 1,500 people had been killed and over a million people displaced from their homes across the country," Amnesty International Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Heba Morayef said.

"Civilians in Lebanon are already paying an unbearable price with children, health workers and journalists amongst those killed – the latest attacks will only escalate this devastating human toll."

Morayef added that the Israeli military warned of the attacks due to Hezbollah terrorists repositioning themselves in Beirut's suburbs.

Now, the law she championed last year has rid society of one particularly disgusting criminal, a man who used artificial intelligence technology to "engage in a campaign of harassment" against his targets.

On Tuesday, on the social media platform X, the first lady touted "the first conviction under the Take It Down Act - protecting victims from non-consensual AI-generated sexually explicit images, cyberstalking, and threats of violence."

She also shared a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio.

"Thank you U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II for protecting Americans from cybercrimes in this new digital age," the first lady added.

TAKE IT DOWN ACT: FIRST CONVICTION

Today marks the first conviction under the Take It Down Act - protecting victims from non-consensual AI-generated sexually explicit images, cyberstalking, and threats of violence.

Thank you U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II for protecting…

— First Lady Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) April 7, 2026

According to the release, 37-year-old James Strahler II of Columbus, Ohio, pleaded guilty Tuesday to "cybercrimes that included both real and AI-generated sexually explicit images and threats of violence to numerous victims."

"We believe Strahler is the first person in the United States to be convicted under the Take It Down Act," Gerace said.

And not a moment too soon.

In fact, the list of Strahler's crimes makes one shudder at his malice as much as his perversity.

For instance, "Strahler used AI to create pornographic videos depicting at least one adult victim engaged in sex acts with her father," according to the news release. The creep also used "faces of minor boys from his community" and then "created AI-generated obscenity of the minor boys having sex with their mothers and/or grandmothers," the release states.

In other words, one can only imagine the kinds of thoughts that passed through the perpetrator's mind.

Moreover, how long before Strahler would have discovered that his AI-generated images no longer satisfied his sick desires? How long before the desensitized pervert decided that he needed to recreate those fabricated scenes with an actual victim?

Who knows? But at least now we do know that the first lady's legislation has resulted in a federal conviction.

On May 19, Melania joined President Donald Trump in the White House Rose Garden for the act's signing.

"Today, through the 'TAKE IT DOWN' Act, we affirm that the well-being of our children is central to the future of our families and America," the first lady said, according to a White House news release. "I am proud to say that the values of BE BEST will be reflected in the law of the land."

The first lady established her anti-cyberbullying BE BEST initiative during her husband's first administration.

Then, early in the second Trump administration, she placed heavy focus on "non-consensual intimate imagery," including AI-generated images, according to the White House release.

"I just think it's very impressive to have a first lady who's thinking through these issues on just a broad scale," Fox News' Kayleigh McEnany said in a clip posted to the social media platform X. "How does AI affect crime? How is it going to affect our young people?"

McEnany made those comments on Fox News' "Outnumbered."

TAKE IT DOWN ACT:
First Conviction pic.twitter.com/ClRnCu6ZUT

— First Lady Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) April 8, 2026

In the past, of course, first ladies have focused on relatively tame initiatives -- like Laura Bush's reading programs -- or even impositions on American life, like Michelle Obama's school lunch decrees.

Melania, however, used her influence to achieve justice for victims of disgusting crimes. For that, she deserves Americans' gratitude.

Brown, 35, was charged after CCTV footage captured him allegedly stabbing 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska to death on a Charlotte, North Carolina, light rail train in August.

The New York Post reports Brown had an evaluation in December at Central Regional Hospital in Butner, North Carolina, that concluded he was not competent to stand trial. His competency hearing in court was scheduled for April 30, but the defense requested a 180-day delay that was granted.

A judge must now decide whether to accept the hospital's findings.

Under state law, if the judge agrees, his charges will be dismissed, the New York Post reported.

Fortunately for the American public, that isn't the end of the criminal case.

If the judge issues a ruling without prejudice, state charges for murder can be refiled if Brown is later found to have regained competency.

Brown also faces federal charges of violence against a railroad carrier and mass transportation system causing death, which were filed in October. He is currently being held in federal custody in Chicago.

Despite a psychiatric evaluation being ordered in the federal case, one has not been conducted yet.

This is by no means Brown's only instance of lawbreaking as he has a history including 14 prior arrests.

Newsweek reported in September he was a known schizophrenic to local authorities.

It's tragic the system allowed Brown to even ride the bus that evening in August.

His long history of arrests and mental health issues should have seen him in an institution or a prison cell. As the New York Post reported, those arrests were for crimes like assault to felony robbery going back to 2007.

Asylums need to be commonplace again. Mental health practice veers towards outpatient care on the basis of granting agency in the name of decency and charity to the sick.

What about decency and charity to the general population? We are forced to live around these people and endure their psychotic tendencies.

There is no reason to live like this. The failures of the justice system are another issue entirely.

Mental health issues notwithstanding, someone with a criminal history spanning decades shouldn't have free rein to terrorize society after repeatedly proving he can't function in it.

This is the danger of rehabilitative justice taking priority over punitive justice.

When restoring the offending party's wellbeing and status among a free society comes first, that society suffers.

As many as 1,000 jobs could be cut in the coming weeks, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Disney’s marketing department, where various parts of the company have been combined, is expected to feel the brunt of the layoffs, the Journal reported.

Staff of Disney+ and Hulu are also being merged.

Disney is facing a two-pronged threat. The world of streaming services delivers smaller profits than the days of cable or over-the-air television, The Wall Street Journal noted.

Further, tech companies such as Amazon and YouTube are fierce competitors. That means Disney needs to find money to invest in the digital future.

Although the layoffs will be the first under new CEO Josh D’Amaro, they continue a pattern set by former CEO Bob Iger beginning in 2022.

Since then, Disney has cut more than 8,000 jobs, mostly in its entertainment and corporate areas, along with ESPN. Employment has risen at its theme parks and on its cruise ventures.

At the end of its 2025 fiscal year, Disney had 231,000 workers.

Disney joins Sony Pictures, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery in making cuts, with more jobs losses likely if Paramount is able to complete a buyout of Warner.

Sony, in fact, announced Tuesday that it would cut hundreds of jobs, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The report noted that Disney is also facing losses from theater revenue, and fears a potential drop in international visitors to its theme parks.

NEW: Disney is reportedly planning to cut up to 1,000 positions in the coming weeks, with many of the cuts in the recently consolidated marketing division as part of a cost-cutting effort code-named “Project Imagine," according to @JBFlint and @benfritz.https://t.co/85wfytODyO pic.twitter.com/ygMTSt4qr3

— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) April 9, 2026

NATO members that impeded American operations or simply failed to stand by the U.S. could be punished by having U.S. troops moved out of their countries, according to The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper quoted sources it did not name, but identified only as “administration officials.”

Troops would be shifted to nations that supported the United States, the report said.

Right now, the plan is a concept, and among several options discussed behind closed doors to act on Trump’s dissatisfaction with the alliance.

“It’s quite sad that NATO turned their backs on the American people over the last six weeks when it’s the American people who have been funding their defense,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday.

The U.S. has about 84,000 military personnel in various European nations.

The conceptual plan could lead to closing a base in either Spain or Germany.

Different NATO members took different approaches.

Spain and Italy refused to allow American planes involved in the war effort to use bases and airspace. France limited the use of its airspace to planes not involved in the attacks on Iran.

Poland, Romania, Lithuania and Greece were considered supportive, the report said.

Trump on Monday said he was “very disappointed” with NATO and that their refusal to back America was “a mark on NATO that will never disappear.”

NATO Secretary-General, Mark Rutte met with Trump on Wednesday, according to The New York Times.

“He is clearly disappointed with many NATO allies, and I can see his point,” Rutte said.

“But at the same time, I was also able to point to the fact that the large majority of European nations has been helpful with basing, with logistics, with overflights, with making sure that they live up to the commitments,” he said.

 “It’s, therefore, a nuanced picture.”

Asked if Trump threatened to leave NATO, Rutte said, “It was a very open discussion. He clearly told me what he thought of what happened over the last couple of weeks.”

Leavitt quoted Trump as saying of NATO: "They were tested, and they failed," during the Iran war, according to Reuters.

Trump’s Truth Social account has made clear his dissatisfaction with the alliance.

“NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN. REMEMBER GREENLAND, THAT BIG, POORLY RUN, PIECE OF ICE!!!” Trump posted on Wednesday.

The setting was a forum for Democratic presidential contenders to discuss issues important to gay and lesbian voters. His interviewer was CNN's Anderson Cooper, a gay man, just in case you haven't been paying attention to the media since 1999 or so.

"Anderson, back 15, 20 years ago, we talked about this in -- in San Francisco was all about, well, you know, gay -- gay bathhouses," Biden said.

"And everybody -- it's all about around-the-clock sex. It's all -- c'mon, man," he added.

FLASHBACK: In 2019, Joe Biden ranted about bathhouses with Anderson Cooper:

"Anderson, back 15, 20 years ago, we talked about this in -- in San Francisco was all about, well, you know, gay -- gay bath houses. And everybody -- it's all about around-the-clock sex. It's all -- come… https://t.co/PBJ3QpI306 pic.twitter.com/gSruJTevBP

— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) April 7, 2026

You know Joe Biden thinks something is silly and outdated when he brings out the "c'mon, man." His point, as the New York Post reported at the time, was that rampant gay sex was a stereotype. He even said, "Gay couples are more likely to stay together longer than heterosexual couples.”

I'm surprised we didn't get a "literally" or a story about how his gay friend Corn Pop, who was a bad dude, educated him about how this lavender panic was a bunch of malarkey, you lying dog-faced pony soldier.

Well, thank heavens Joe Biden -- or at least his brain -- isn't around to see what Minneapolis is about to do.

According to a report Tuesday from WCCO-TV in Minneapolis, the Minneapolis City Council has referred a series of ordinances to staff that would, among other things, legalize so-called "bathhouses" that have been banned since the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s.

For those of you young and/or naïve enough to be unfamiliar with such establishments, these "bathhouses" have little to do with bathing and practically everything to do with public sex, usually of the same-sex variety and usually among men.

Even before the epidemic began, as gay journalist Randy Shilts noted in his bestselling work on the history of HIV/AIDS, "And the Band Played On," these bathhouses were effectively breeding grounds for every sexually transmitted disease there is, from syphilis to herpes to human papillomavirus to hepatitises A through C.

Shilts concluded that these bathhouses, particularly in San Francisco, provided the perfect breeding ground for a novel and deadly virus that could not only be passed mostly through sexual intercourse but passed repeatedly through anonymous, unprotected, and dangerous sexual practices involving multitudes of people before it could even be detected -- something that will clearly never happen again, of course.

From WCCO:

Adult bathhouses and sex venues were a component of nightlife prior to the advent of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, which led to the passage of a surfeit of ordinances banning them among virtually all U.S. urban areas. As reported by the Star Tribune, the last bathhouse to operate legally in Minneapolis closed in 1988.

The Star Tribune added that, in a statement, council member Jason Chavez argued, "LGBTQIA+ gathering spaces, including bathhouses, have long been targeted by criminalization and policing, and our communities have paid a devastating price for that." 

Yes, I cannot think of any more "devastating price" than the targeting of "LGBTQIA+ gathering spaces, including bathhouses." None whatsoever. Certainly not a price like, say, a deadly disease that the world spent a decade and a half developing a regimen of antiretroviral drugs to treat. Nothing of that sort occurs to me.

These ordinances, according to WCCO, would "establish licensing and business regulations for establishments where sexual activity between consenting adults may be facilitated ... amend the city's zoning code to update definitions and standards for sexually oriented uses" and "amend the city's health and sanitation code, specifically provisions related to contagious diseases and what the code currently calls high-risk sexual conduct."

"Finally, a fourth ordinance would amend the city's miscellaneous offenses code to add exceptions for licensed establishments where sexual activity between consenting adults may be facilitated," the station reported.

"The changes aim to eliminate what officials described as stigmatizing language and reflect advances in preventative care," WCCO noted. Because what we all need is more public sex and less stigma in America, and especially in Minneapolis.

As Dustin Grage, a Minneapolis-based journalist with Townhall.com, the bathhouse bill is only part of what the  Democratic Socialists of America contingent would like to bring to the city -- including special parking lots for homeless people to sleep in their cars and decriminalizing drug paraphernalia.

In other words, the city that brought America the George Floyd riots and the antics of Rep. Ilhan Omar is about to get even worse.

"This is the DSA platform for Minneapolis," Grage told Fox News' Laura Ingraham.

NEW: Minneapolis is preparing to consider legalizing adult bathhouses where residents can engage in s*xual activity.

The bathhouses were legal until the 1980s before being closed because of AIDS.

Council members say the LGBTQIA+ community is paying a "devastating price" due to… pic.twitter.com/I1sluOrpfX

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) April 8, 2026

As Joe Biden himself said: "C'mon man." And to think, we don't have Dr. Jill Biden as first lady anymore to lend her medical services to the people of Minnesota.

It's probably worth repeating that, while the Democrats talk "affordability" with laser-like focus in this midterm season, this is the end goal: woke depravity. And if you needed any evidence that wokeness kills, literally, here you go. Minneapolis is handing it to you. Don't say we -- heck, don't even say Randy Shilts, certainly no Christian conservative -- didn't warn you.

On the other hand, look at the bright side: Just think of all the Tim Walz jokes.

Avenatti has been ordered to serve over two years in the halfway house in addition to participating in mental health treatment, and he must also stay away from unlawful controlled substances, TMZ reported.

He is projected to be fully released in September 2028 and must pay restitution of almost $6 million.

Avenatti was a frequent guest on CNN and represented Stormy Daniels in her lawsuit against President Donald Trump.

He was sentenced to two and a half years in prison back in July 2021 for attempting to extort Nike and for defrauding multiple clients, according to the Justice Department.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said at the time that "Michael Avenatti used illegal and extortionate threats and betrayed one of his clients for the purpose of seeking to obtain millions of dollars for himself."

"Not only did Avenatti attempt to weaponize his law license and celebrity to seek to extort payments for himself, he also defrauded his own client. Avenatti will now serve substantial time in prison for his criminal conduct," Strauss added.

In June 2022, he was sentenced to 48 months in prison for identity theft and for defrauding Daniels by stealing part of her book advance, as well as spending almost $150,000 on personal and business expenses, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said.

"Lawyers have a duty to be loyal and advocates for their clients," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams remarked. "Far from being a loyal advocate for his client, Michael Avenatti stole his client’s identity and her money in order to line his own pockets. Now, Avenatti will serve a substantial prison sentence for his brazen crimes and betrayal of his client."

A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Central District of California said that Avenatti was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison back in December 2022 for stealing millions of dollars from clients and for tax fraud.

The sentence came after he defrauded clients, one of whom "was a paraplegic with mental health issues," and for obstructing IRS efforts to collect a tax debt from a business he owned.

United States District Judge James V. Selna, who sentenced Avenatti, said the disgraced lawyer “has done great evil for which he must answer" and ordered him to pay restitution in the amount of nearly $11 million to four different clients and the IRS.

"Michael Avenatti was a corrupt lawyer who claimed he was fighting for the little guy. In fact, he only cared about his own selfish interests," United States Attorney Martin Estrada said.

Estrada added, “He stole millions of dollars from his clients -- all to finance his extravagant lifestyle that included a private jet and race cars. As a result of his illegal acts, he has lost his right to practice law in California, and now he will serve a richly deserved prison sentence."

CNN, and other anti-Trump networks, constantly showered praise and adulation on Avenatti and gave him coveted spots of air time.

Back in 2018, former CNN host Brian Stelter even suggested he'd make a strong candidate for president.

"And looking ahead to 2020, one reason I’m taking you seriously as a contender is because of your presence on cable news," he told Avenatti.

In June 2025, Avenatti managed to get his prison term reduced following a resentencing hearing after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated his 14-year sentence back in October 2024, Fox News reported. He was disbarred in California in February 2025.

"The Department of Justice is holding criminals accountable for stealing over half a billion dollars from taxpayers, and across our U.S. Attorney’s offices all over this country, we currently have over 8,000 fraud matters underway," he said Tuesday.

"Unfortunately, as you’ve heard a lot about recently, because it’s true, these cases represent a fraction of the fraud ripping off our country every day."

Blanche credited President Donald Trump with leading the charge against such criminal acts and cited the newly created "Task Force to Eliminate Fraud," led by Vice President J.D. Vance.

"Thanks to the leadership of President Trump, this department, working closely with the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, is supercharging efforts to take down every fraudster and bring them to justice," he continued.

Blanche added, "For example, just this week -- and it’s only Tuesday -- a criminal defendant was sentenced, and the department obtained two additional guilty pleas in matters totaling over half a billion dollars in health care and COVID fraud."

"If you think about that, just since yesterday, we had a guilty plea in a $160 million health care enrollment fraud scheme, and a sentencing in a $100 million COVID-19 fraud, and a guilty plea in a $160 million health care fraud scheme as well," he explained.

.@DAGToddBlanche: "We currently have over 8,000 fraud matters underway... These cases represent a fraction of the fraud ripping off our country... This Department — working closely with the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud — is supercharging efforts." pic.twitter.com/PRvV8lPsjC

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 7, 2026

These comments came just one day before reports surfaced about Vance and his anti-fraud team identifying $6.3 billion in government contracts linked to potentially fraudulent businesses.

These businesses will have 30 days to prove their legitimacy and must provide evidence of a real, physical location where their operations take place.

The majority of the contracts that are currently under scrutiny were awarded under the Biden administration, a senior administration official told The Daily Caller.

“The fact that these taxpayer dollars went out without verifying if the contractors and vendors were even real or lawful businesses is a disgrace and yet another example of how the previous administration flouted basic anti-fraud guardrails,” a senior White House official told the news outlet.

The task force was created shortly after reports circulated of mass fraud that was uncovered in Minnesota earlier this year, when multiple day care centers -- many run by Somali immigrants -- were found to have no children enrolled, yet were still receiving massive quantities of taxpayer funds.

The Department of Justice estimated that several billion dollars have been stolen by phony organizations in Minnesota alone.

It also cited examples of waste and mismanagement of social services programs meant to provide food and health care for the needy.

In his executive order establishing the anti-fraud task force, Trump wrote, “The staggering fraud and waste in Minnesota alone is a case in point. Federal prosecutors in the State estimate that Medicaid fraud in recent years could total in the billions. Nearly 9 percent of the roughly $866 million spent on food stamps in Minnesota each year is estimated to be spent in error.”

In addition to Minnesota, Trump has called out states like California, New York, Massachusetts, Maine, and others for being the epicenter of massive federal fraud.

Decarlos Brown Jr., 35, has been deemed "incapable to proceed" with the murder charge brought against him by Charlotte, North Carolina, prosecutors, WBTV-TV in Charlotte reported Tuesday.

However, a state judge has yet to rule on that finding, the station reported. And Brown is still facing a federal charge that could mean the death penalty.

For conservatives, Brown became one of the faces of Democratic lawlessness after the brutal, caught-on-camera killing of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, a woman who fled the Russian invasion of her homeland for the presumed safety of the United States.

BREAKING: DeCarlos Brown Jr., the man who m*rdered Iryna Zarutska, has been found "incapable to proceed" on state m*rder charges.

The case is now reportedly delayed until Brown's capacity is deemed "restored."

HOW IS THIS JUSTICE??? pic.twitter.com/kBUt1vyHsd

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 8, 2026

In the media uproar that followed the Aug. 22 stabbing, which took place aboard a Charlotte light rail train, it emerged that Brown had a lengthy criminal history, including armed robbery, assault, and felony larceny, as the New York Post reported.

Yet he remained a free man long enough to commit an atrocity on a vehicle of public transportation.

In fact, Brown should have been behind bars at the time of the Zarutska killing on a charge of misusing the 911 system, but was not, thanks to a magistrate who let him go on a "written promise to appear" in court. That magistrate owed her seat to an elected Democratic judge and was supervised by another Democratic judge.

Now, according to a psychiatric evaluation, Brown is considered not capable of being tried for the killing.

According to The Charlotte Observer, the examination that found Brown incapable took place on Dec. 29 at Central Regional Hospital, a psychiatric facility. Its findings were revealed Tuesday when his defense attorney filed a motion seeking to delay a hearing on Brown's capacity to stand trial.

The state-level murder charge against Brown will not be adjudicated until his competency can be "restored," according to WBTV.

"Restoring a defendant's competency can be an extremely lengthy process in North Carolina because of a lack of available space in psychiatric facilities. Some defendants can wait more than a year for a bed to open up in one of the state’s facilities," the station reported.

Brown remains in federal custody on a charge of committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system.

In a statement released with the announcement of the federal charge, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi vowed to seek the "maximum penalty" for Brown.

The announcement noted that the maximum punishment is life in prison or death.

President Donald Trump has made clear his preferences in the case, with a Sept. 10 post on the Truth Social social media platform that declared that the "ANIMAL who so violently killed the beautiful young lady from Ukraine, who came to America searching for peace and safety, should be given a 'Quick"{ (there is no doubt!) Trial, and only awarded THE DEATH PENALTY. There can be no other option!!!"

It's unclear what effect, if any, the psychiatric finding will have on the federal charge.

According to WSOC-TV in Charlotte, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina said the process of the federal case is independent of the state's case, including the determination of competency.

The announcement came just 48 hours after President Donald Trump promised that identifying a leaker in another recent case involving the Air Force pilot rescue operation in Iran over Easter weekend would be a top priority.

Patel posted on social media, "FBI and our partners have arrested a former SOCOM employee, who supported our top-level military warfighters, for allegedly transmitting classified information to a member of the media."

"Let this serve as a message to any would-be leakers: we’re working these cases, and we’re making arrests. This FBI will not tolerate those who seek to betray our country and put Americans in harm’s way," he added.

🚨🚨 FBI and our partners have arrested a former SOCOM employee, who supported our top-level military warfighters, for allegedly transmitting classified information to a member of the media.

Outstanding work by @FBICharlotte and the FBI Counterintelligence & Espionage Division…

— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) April 8, 2026

In a news release, the DOJ said, "The FBI arrested Courtney Williams, 40, of Wagram, North Carolina, yesterday and a federal grand jury indicted her today in connection with her alleged transmission of classified national defense information to individuals not authorized to receive it, including a journalist."

The news release said, "As alleged, between 2022 and 2025, Williams repeatedly communicated with the Journalist via telephone and text messages. During this period, Williams and the Journalist had over 10 hours of telephone calls and exchanged more than 180 messages."

"In one such message, the Journalist identified themselves as a journalist and stated that they sought information about the SMU [Special Military Unit] in support of an upcoming article and book. After these communications with Williams, the Journalist published a book and article that named Williams as a source and attributed specific statements to her. Some of these statements contained classified national defense information. In addition to her disclosures to the Journalist, Williams also made unauthorized disclosures of national defense information via her social media accounts."

CASE UPDATE from @FBICharlotte: Former Army Employee and Top Secret Clearance Holder Arrested and Charged with Leaking Classified National Defense Information

Learn more: https://t.co/2yy0urQFEq pic.twitter.com/03UImztQdm

— FBI (@FBI) April 8, 2026

Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division said, “This indictment should serve as a stark warning to all current and former clearance holders thinking of violating their positions of trust. If you jeopardize our national security by disclosing classified information without authorization, the FBI will hold you accountable for your crimes.”

Trump issued a similar warning Monday when he told reporters that someone had leaked to a journalist that one of two U.S. Air Force officers shot down in Iran had been rescued, and the search was on for the second one.

“When they did that, the entire country of Iran knew that there was a pilot that was somewhere on their land that was fighting for his life,” and the rescue mission became a “much more difficult operation” for those going in to search for the missing officer, the president explained.

Trump says there was a leaker regarding the rescue mission in Iran: "We're going to go to the media company that released it and we're going to say 'National security. Give it up or go to jail.'" pic.twitter.com/l2YnIQxi4V

— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) April 6, 2026

“The country, Iran, put out a major note, as you all saw it, offering a very big award for anybody that captures the pilot,” he said. “So in addition to a hostile, very talented, very good, very evil military, we had millions of people trying to get an award.”

"We have to find that leaker, because that's a sick person," Trump stated. "They put that man at great risk, and they put the hundreds of people that went in [at risk, too]."

He promised, “We’re going to go to the media company that released it, and we’re going to say, ‘national security, give it up or go to jail.’”

The New York Times reported that Harmeet Dhillon, head of the civil rights division, has been assigned to look into the matter, according to three unnamed sources. Hutchinson served as an assistant to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.

"The investigation into Ms. Hutchinson began some weeks ago after the Justice Department received a referral from a Trump ally in Congress who accused Ms. Hutchinson of lying to the special House committee that investigated the events of Jan. 6," the Times said. The committee was established by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

"During explosive televised testimony in June 2022, Ms. Hutchinson, now 29, said that Mr. Trump had encouraged the crowd that gathered to hear him speak near the White House on Jan. 6 to march to the Capitol even though he knew it was armed and could turn violent," the news outlet added.

"She also claimed that she had heard that Mr. Trump lunged at one of his Secret Service agents in a presidential limo when he was told he could not join his supporters on Capitol Hill. Other testimony later contradicted that assertion," according to the Times.

A witness testifies that Trump put his hands on a Secret Service agent and tried to grab the steering wheel of the presidential limo so he can go to the Capitol on 1/6. pic.twitter.com/TByhq5d5s3

— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) June 28, 2022

Trump responded to her testimony with a social media post at the time, writing, "Her fake story that I tried to grab the steering wheel of the White House Limousine in order to steer it to the Capitol Building is 'sick' and fraudulent, very much like the Unselect Committee itself -- Wouldn't have even been possible to do such a ridiculous thing."

The Secret Service driver refuted her claim in testimony before the Jan. 6 committee, saying that he “did not see him reach [redacted]. [President Trump] never grabbed the steering wheel. I didn’t see him, you know, lunge to try to get into the front seat at all.”

Trump also posted, "Her story of me throwing food is also false ... and why would SHE have to clean it up, I hardly knew who she was."

Here is Trump's response to those claims: pic.twitter.com/qsTnnbl2rZ

— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) June 28, 2022

In a back-and-forth with then-Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, vice chairwoman of the Jan. 6 committee, Hutchinson testified, "There were several times throughout my tenure with the chief of staff where I was aware of either him throwing dishes or flipping the tablecloth to let all the contents of the table go onto the floor."

In October 2024, Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk, chairman of the Committee on House Administration’s Subcommittee on Oversight, made public 2022 text messages between Cheney and Hutchinson, without the knowledge of her attorney.

“In the months prior to Hutchinson’s explosive private and public testimony, Cheney communicated with Hutchinson, both directly and through an intermediary — Alyssa Farah Griffin -- [a former Trump aide, now a co-host on “The View”] while Hutchinson was represented by her attorney, Stefan Passantino. The Select Committee conducted six transcribed interviews of Hutchinson in total. Passantino represented Hutchinson for the first three interviews,” the House Administration subcommittee news release said.

After her third testimony before the committee, Hutchinson reached out to Cheney via the encrypted text app Signal and began communicating with her without her attorney’s knowledge.

🚨BREAKING: J6 Committee Vice Chairwoman Liz Cheney was communicating with witness Cassidy Hutchinson on the encrypted app Signal about her testimony without the knowledge of Hutchinson’s Attorney pic.twitter.com/XdhqrC72zC

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 15, 2024

The news release further indicated, “Days after Cheney began communicating directly with Hutchinson, Hutchinson fired Passantino and hired Cheney’s recommended attorneys, who agreed to represent Hutchinson pro bono,” i.e., free of charge.

With her new legal counsel, Hutchinson testified three more times before the Jan. 6 committee.

Loudermilk alleged, “Cheney’s influence on Hutchinson is apparent from that point forward by her dramatic change in testimony and eventual claims against President Trump using second- and third-hand accounts,” including the supposed Trump-lunging-in-the-limousine incident.

Loudermilk issued a report in December 2024 that contradicted claims made by Hutchinson before the Jan. 6 committee, concluding Trump did not attack the Secret Service, nor did he have intelligence indicating there would be violence at the Capitol on the morning of Jan. 6.

Further, the subcommittee found that Hutchinson falsely claimed to have drafted a handwritten note for Trump, at the direction of Meadows, relating to the events happening at the Capitol, "when the note clearly was not written by her," according to a handwriting expert.

The purpose of presenting it to the Jan. 6 committee was to bolster its narrative that Trump was apathetic about the unfolding chaotic scene at the Capitol.

Indeed, whether or not the scandal in which he now finds himself embroiled has an innocent explanation, New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel deserved every bit of it and then some for throwing one of his own players under the bus last week.

A series of photos published Tuesday by Page Six showed NFL reporter Dianna Russini of the Athletic, a married woman with two children, holding hands with Vrabel, who has been married to his wife Jen for 26 years.

Late last month, Vrabel implied that he wanted Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson "educated" after Henderson dared to endorse a Biblical view of the LGBT lifestyle.

The exclusive photos were taken two weekends ago at a resort in Sedona, Arizona.

Citing "a spy," Page Six reported that Vrabel and Russini had breakfast together on Saturday, March 28, before spending time in the pool and side-by-side in a hot tub. Then, that evening, they spent time together on a private rooftop accessible only from a two-person bungalow. They also briefly danced together.

Meanwhile, several photos showed the pair hugging. And in one photo, they stood facing one another with their fingers interlaced.

Of course, a report of this kind, complete with visual evidence, cannot go unanswered. Thus, Vrabel and Russini each denied that anything inappropriate occurred.

"These photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable. This doesn’t deserve any further response," Vrabel told Page Six on Tuesday.

And Russini told the outlet that the "photos don’t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day. Like most journalists in the NFL, reporters interact with sources away from stadiums and other venues."

Readers may make of those denials whatever they wish. Personally, I have hugged plenty of female friends, but have never interlaced fingers with one of them.

In any event, the personal lives of Vrabel and Russini really do amount to none of our business.

This story produces gleeful satisfaction, however, because it comes on the heels of Vrabel's sanctimonious remarks about Henderson.

Late last month on social media, NBA guard Jaden Ivey posted his objections to the league's celebration of "pride month." His employer, the Chicago Bulls, responded by waiving him.

Henderson then came to the defense of Ivey, a fellow Christian, by posting Bible verses.

When asked about his running back's words, Vrabel took the coward's way out. Instead of defending Henderson's right to his Christian beliefs, the coach said he wants his players "educated."

"I love TreVeyon," Vrabel told a reporter in a clip posted to the social media platform X. "I love the person. He cares deeply about our team, he cares deeply about his faith, he cares deeply about his family, his wife, the people in our building, and so I want them to be able to express what they believe in their heart and in their mind."

Then came the secular-progressive caveat.

"But, I also wanna make sure that they’re educated," the coach added. "And we want to be inclusive. Everything we want to do -- wants to provide an environment for people to, one, feel comfortable, but also to share their personal beliefs, and then also we represent the team, and we represent the organization."

#Patriots HC Mike Vrabel on TreVeyon Henderson’s controversial post:

“I love TreVeyon… He cares deeply about his faith… I want them to be able to express what they believe… But, I also wanna make sure that they’re educated. We want to be inclusive.”

(🎥 @Patriots) pic.twitter.com/Vfy7ZXsIfq

— Carlos A. Lopez (@LosTalksPats) March 31, 2026

Listening to Vrabel speak, it sounded as if his mind defaulted to boilerplate. But that is precisely the problem. After all, nowadays, boilerplate consists of woke jargon about "inclusivity" and other nonsense. That jargon has so infected the minds of people like Vrabel that, probably without thinking about it, he assumed -- paradoxically -- that the demands of fostering an "inclusive" environment authorized him to exclude his own player's Christian beliefs.

Perhaps this new public scandal, which involves questions about Vrabel's honesty, will force upon him an education of his own.

On Monday, in His infinite wisdom, He surprised us by acting through NASA.

During a live broadcast of the Artemis II lunar flyby, astronaut Victor Glover delivered a beautiful Christian message to the entire planet, followed by an endorsement and complementary remarks from NASA Public Affairs Officer Leah Cheshier.

"As we get close to the nearest point to the moon and farthest point from Earth, as we continue to unlock the mysteries of the cosmos," Glover said in a clip posted to the social media platform X, "I would like to remind you of one of the most important mysteries there on Earth. And that's love."

At that point, those of us who have grown jaded from awards-show acceptance speeches might have feared some imminent woke diatribe. Instead, Glover gave us something beautiful.

"Christ said, in response to what was the greatest command, that it was to love God with all that you are," the astronaut added. "And He also, being a great teacher, said the second is equal to it, and that is to love your neighbor as yourself."

Glover was paraphrasing Matthew 22:37-39: "And he said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

Imagine all the science enthusiasts who tuned in to the NASA broadcast and heard the New Testament!

"And so," Glover continued, "as we prepare to go out of radio communication, we're still [inaudible] love from Earth. And to all of you down there on Earth, and around Earth, we love you, from the moon."

Then, Cheshier responded.

"Poignant words from NASA astronaut Victor Glover," she said. "And a little bit of a love letter from the other side of the moon, all the way to Earth. Glover touching on the teachings of Jesus, including to love your neighbor as yourself."

Several minutes later in the actual broadcast, though only a few seconds later in the clip posted to X, Cheshier commented on the view from the spacecraft's camera.

"And this really beautiful view of a crescent moon and a crescent Earth," she said. "How great Thou art."

This was one of my favorite parts of the Artemis II Lunar Flyby yesterday. I loved these words from Victor Glover and Leah Cheshier.

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands.” Psalm 19:1

How Great Thou Art pic.twitter.com/Q7IsF344n4

— Landon Sweet (@LandonSweet) April 7, 2026

Readers who wish to view the entire broadcast may do so in the X video below. The relevant segment featuring Glover and Cheshier's comments appeared between 5:36:50 and 5:41:34.

LIVE: Watch with us as the Artemis II astronauts make their closest approach to the Moon, traveling farther from Earth than ever before. https://t.co/Zpy7GdTqA8

— NASA (@NASA) April 6, 2026

According to NASA, the images captured by the Artemis II astronauts showed "regions no human has ever seen before -- including a rare in-space solar eclipse."

We can only imagine what Glover and the other astronauts felt as they absorbed those breathtaking views up close.

On the other hand, we need not imagine what went through Glover's mind. As he encountered a part of Creation hitherto unseen by humans, his thoughts turned to Jesus.

Praise God for allowing us to experience that moment with him.

The latest comes from Warren County, Ohio, where WXIX reported Wednesday that a 23-year-old man was arrested after security camera footage showed him outside a Franklin Township home, threatening a man with a knife.

Anthony Tyrone Jessie Long said he would kill the father and husband standing in his own driveway "in the name of Allah."

The man's wife called the police as Long tried chasing their daughter, who got in her car and drove away.

Clearcreek police were dispatched after a driver alerted them to a man, allegedly Long, who was following them and trying to ram their vehicle after he left Franklin Township.

Long was charged with aggravated menacing and aggravated trespassing, and was taken to Warren County Jail, where he is being held on bond.

Security camera footage of the initial altercation was posted to social media platform X.

🚨BREAKING: Man arrested after going to a random Ohio home, praying in the driveway, then threatening to kill the family “in the name of Allah” and chasing their daughter

Anthony Tyrone Jessie Long, 23, was arrested after threatening a Franklin Township family with a knife

He… pic.twitter.com/h7dwxJa2a9

— Unlimited L's (@unlimited_ls) April 8, 2026

As the man was walking, viewers can hear Long threaten him, saying, "I'll kill you in the name of Allah." He was reportedly holding a knife.

As the man backed up, he yelled at his daughter, identified as Kenzie, to drive away after having just come home.

Long sprinted toward her vehicle and she reversed into the street.

Is this really so shocking for anyone who understands Islam? Long is just following the Quran.

Quran 2:244 says, "And fight in the Way of Allah and know that Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower." It could not be clearer.

ReligionofPeace.com lists 110 Islamic attacks in the last 30 days that killed 572 people and injured 689 in 20 countries.

We don't hear of Christians slaughtering in the name of Jesus Christ.

Let's just entertain the idea for the sake of argument. Say a Christian professing faith in Jesus Christ did kill in his name.

The Gospel accounts note Christ's commands with respect to how we treat our enemies. His message was one of love. Matthew 5:43-45 says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven."

A Christian that slaughters innocents in Christ's name has beliefs that are antithetical to His teachings.

A Muslim that kills in the name of Allah follows the teachings of Muhammad and understands the Quran.

The task force has identified $6.3 billion in government contracts linked to potentially fraudulent businesses, The Daily Caller reported Wednesday.

"The task force, alongside the General Services Administration (GSA), are beginning to send out letters to nearly 400 businesses with government contracts that they believe could be fraudulent," according to the report. The investigation found 895 contracts awarded to 392 businesses, totaling $6.3 billion, "with $3 billion still left to be rewarded."

These businesses will have 30 days to prove their legitimacy and must provide evidence of a real, physical location where their operations take place.

The task force was created shortly after reports circulated of mass fraud that was uncovered in Minnesota earlier this year, when multiple day care centers -- many run by Somali immigrants -- were found to have no children enrolled, yet were still receiving massive quantities of taxpayer funds.

The Department of Justice estimated that several billion dollars have been stolen by phony organizations in Minnesota alone. The DOJ cited examples of waste and mismanagement of social services programs meant to provide food and health care for the needy.

In his executive order establishing the task force, Trump wrote, "The staggering fraud and waste in Minnesota alone is a case in point. Federal prosecutors in the State estimate that Medicaid fraud in recent years could total in the billions. Nearly 9 percent of the roughly $866 million spent on food stamps in Minnesota each year is estimated to be spent in error."

The commander in chief also addressed fraud numbers during a speech in February, adding that, "There’s been no more stunning example than Minnesota, where members of the Somali community have pillaged an estimated $19 billion from the American taxpayer. We have all the information and, in actuality, the number is much higher than that."

The majority of the contracts that are currently under scrutiny were awarded under the Biden administration, a senior administration official told The Daily Caller.

“The fact that these taxpayer dollars went out without verifying if the contractors and vendors were even real or lawful businesses is a disgrace and yet another example of how the previous administration flouted basic anti-fraud guardrails,” a senior White House official told the news outlet.

Vance met with his new anti-fraud team for the first time March 27.

A spokesperson for the vice president added, "[The] task force will leave no stone unturned in the hunt for fraud. If fraudsters are robbing hardworking Americans of their tax dollars and services, we will find them."

Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota will be a main target of the new group for alleged immigration fraud, joining fellow Minnesota Democrats Gov. Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison.

Walz and Ellison were grilled before Congress in March over what they knew, and when they knew it, concerning the recent fraud scandals.

One lawmaker, Republican House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who also hails from Minnesota, said during the hearing that if allegations against Ellison are proven to be true, he belongs in jail.

“Mr. Ellison, my concern is that you actively obstructed this investigation in exchange for campaign donations — a quid pro quo. If these concerns are proven to be true, you should be disbarred, and you should go to jail,” Emmer declared.

Walz's actions were also put under a microscope during that same hearing, when GOP Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio pressed the former vice-presidential nominee about the Feeding our Future fraud case.

Jordan accused Walz of lying about restarting payments to the organization after they were initially suspended, saying, "Why didn’t you just tell the truth about the Feeding Our Future program? This program, in my understanding, received $3 million the first year, [and] within a couple years was getting $200 million of taxpayer money. Whistleblowers raised concerns, as the chairman said. Auditors raised concerns. Everybody raised concerns."

“March 30, 2021, the payments are stopped, and a little over a month later, the payments are restarted,” he continued. “Why didn’t you tell the truth about why you restarted the payments?”

Walz claimed the payments were resumed due to a court order, but a statement on the Minnesota judicial branch web site explained that no such order was ever issued.

“Well, somebody’s lying!” Jordan proclaimed. “Somebody’s lying. Because you can’t say the court ordered you to restart the payments, and then the court says, ‘We didn’t order you to restart the payments.’ So either you’re lying, or the court’s lying. And I’m just asking you, which one is it?”

Walz claimed it “simply” came down to a “misinterpretation,” but Jordan disagreed, saying Walz likely feared "political backlash" from the Somali community.

The move came in response to Israel striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon over the last several hours.

Fars, the Iranian news agency, reported that two oil tankers were allowed to transit the Strait before it was shut down again, according to The Times of Israel.

“Simultaneous with Israel’s attacks on Lebanon, the passage of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz has been stopped,” Fars said.

Fox News reporter Trey Yingst said Iran also apparently hit Saudi Arabia's east-to-west oil pipeline, causing significant damage. The pipeline is the only outlet for Saudi crude exports that does not go through the Strait.

Iranian state media reports the passage of oil tankers through the Straight of Hormuz has been stopped after Israeli strikes in Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/GknWMJ5Kj2

— Trey Yingst (@TreyYingst) April 8, 2026

An Israeli Defense Forces spokesman said Wednesday morning, "The IDF just carried out the largest strike against Hezbollah terrorists since the beginning of Operation Roaring Lion."

Within one minute, the IDF hit a hundred Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, he said.

"The operation was based on weeks of precise intelligence and careful planning... We've been saying this from day one, we will not allow Hezbollah to pose a threat to our civilians," the spokesman added.

As long as Hezbollah continues to threaten our civilians, we will continue to operate against them. pic.twitter.com/TD5VOGLcNO

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) April 8, 2026

PBS White House correspondent Liz Landers reported that President Donald Trump told her Lebanon was not part of the deal that his administration negotiated with Iran.

Asked why, he responded, "Because of Hezbollah. They were not included in the deal. That will get taken care of, too. It's alright."

Landers followed up, asking if he was okay with Israel continuing to hit Hezbollah.

"That's a separate skirmish," he said.

A few minutes after the Pentagon briefing wrapped I spoke with President Trump briefly to ask about the latest with Iran: pic.twitter.com/tW0nYD1Vcs

— Liz Landers (@ElizLanders) April 8, 2026

In a Wednesday Truth Social post, Trump indicated some of the points to which Iran has agreed.

"The United States will work closely with Iran, which we have determined has gone through what will be a very productive Regime Change! There will be no enrichment of Uranium, and the United States will, working with Iran, dig up and remove all of the deeply buried (B-2 Bombers) Nuclear 'Dust,'” he wrote.

"We are, and will be, talking Tariff and Sanctions relief with Iran. Many of the 15 points have already been agreed to," Trump added.

BREAKING: "It was a very, very strong threat from the president of the United States that led the Iranian regime to cave to their knees and ask for a cease fire and agree to reopening the Strait of Hormuz."

"And as the Secretary of War, stated at the Pentagon this morning, it… pic.twitter.com/2A00shZFNN

— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 8, 2026

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, "It was a very, very strong threat from the president of the United States that led the Iranian regime to cave to their knees and ask for a cease-fire and agree to reopening the Strait of Hormuz."

Swalwell's more immediate problem is that, apparently, a number of progressive activists and influencers are about to bring forward a fusillade of women who will accuse Swalwell of unspecified (but serial) sexual misconduct; in a Monday thread on social media, Cheyenne Hunt with Gen-Z For Change said the charges were "pretty shocking."

“Targeting employees, interns, and fans. Acting as a mentor just to exploit that power. DMs and Snapchat messages. Allegations ranging from uncomfortable comments to potentially criminal conduct,” she wrote.

“Other women needed to know that they were not alone and that someone had their backs if they came forward. After I spoke about my friend’s experience, many brave women came forward and shared their stories with me.”

Targeting employees, interns, and fans. Acting as a mentor just to exploit that power. DMs and Snapchat messages. Allegations ranging from uncomfortable comments to potentially criminal conduct

— Cheyenne Hunt (@CheyenneHuntCA) April 6, 2026

She added that she had "secured pro bono legal representation for them and they are in the process of sharing information with reporters," although that vetting "process takes time ... The number of credible women who have come forward since I posted my video is pretty shocking and connecting them with the investigative reporting teams who have been working on breaking this for years has greatly expedited this process."

Part of the problem, she added, was that many of these women had signed non-disclosure agreements, which needed to be worked through.

Swalwell's team's response was predictable, calling the claims "false, outrageous" smears. One would obviously suspect he would -- indeed, the only story there would be if he didn't -- although the motivations behind the people making the allegations are ... unique, at least.

“This false, outrageous rumor is being spread 27 days before an election begins by flailing opponents who have sadly teamed up with MAGA conspiracy theorists because they know Eric Swalwell is the frontrunner in this race,” said Swalwell spokesman Micah Beasley in a statement Tuesday, according to Politico.

Now, for those of you who haven't been paying attention, this is actually the last thing "MAGA conspiracy theorists" want (and if they're involved, please do stop it) because, the way California's jungle primary works, the top two contenders advance to the general election regardless of party.

There are only two credible GOP contenders and a whole lot of credible and semi-credible Democratic contenders; Swalwell may be the one with the best shot, but that still means that it could end in a GOP lockout where one of the nation's bluest states is forced to choose between two Republicans. Splitting up Swalwell's 10-15 percent of the vote among the remaining Democrats almost assures that won't happen.

But, OK. Let's say these are "false, outrageous" allegations. What would Eric Swalwell have done if his record were consistent?

Well, if we were to believe what he said when a number of spurious sexual impropriety allegations were foisted upon now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh at the 11th hour of his confirmation process, he would say let them all come forward and tell their tales. We need to listen!

From 2018, during the height of the #MeToo movement:

2018. Eric Swalwell says that if Brett Kavanaugh is innocent of sexual assault, he should bring into his hearing all the people who have accused him so they can speak freely.

Swalwell also said that multiple accusers means Kavanaugh is most likely guilty.

Hey Swalwell, are you… pic.twitter.com/909Lwo9Vts

— MAZE (@mazemoore) April 6, 2026

"I hope, tomorrow, he opens his statement and says, 'You know what? Bring in all the victims. Allow them to be heard, allow them to be questioned," Swalwell said.

"That will clear his name, if he's indeed innocent, and if he's not, for the sake of the credibility of the court, I hope that the senators would vote against him."

He also said that while one accusation might be ignorable, "more and more cases that are separate and independent, that look the same, pretty soon a prosecutor starts to say to a jury ... that the arrows are pointing in the same direction."

OK, then, Eric. In your case, this is easier than a Supreme Court confirmation hearing. Take your own advice. Have a town hall meeting. Bring in all the alleged victims. Allow them to be heard, allow them to be questioned. It'll clear your name if you're innocent, right?

And, I mean, I understand one allegation, but when a bunch of left-wing influencers seem to have found a lot of people willing to make allegations against you -- way more than Kavanaugh, too, by the sounds of things! -- the arrows are pointing in the same direction, no?

Not only that, but unlike Kavanaugh -- a man who had a sterling reputation before his nomination -- Swalwell has faced questions over, at the very least, his judgment in matters sexual. This is a guy who has effectively admitted by refusing to answer whether he slept with a Chinese spy that he slept with a Chinese spy, after all. So we've already got one arrow pointing against Eric, even if it doesn't constitute legal or civil impropriety.

The point is that he won't take his own advice and allow a stream of women to make allegations against Swalwell in a public forum, the same way that his unserious advice in 2018 over claims made with less-than-zero corroborating evidence shouldn't have been taken. But this isn't a serious man, and he aims to take over a very serious office: the governor of the nation's most populous, and most troubled, state.

I cannot avouch for whether these allegations are true. What I can tell you is that Swalwell's response to them is proof that 1) he's unfit for the office, and 2) that whole "believe all women" thing was piffle peddled by Democrats who only believed women when they were convenient tools against Republicans.

“A Country supplying Military Weapons to Iran will be immediately tariffed, on any and all goods sold to the United States of America, 50%, effective immediately,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

“There will be no exclusions or exemptions!” Trump wrote.

A report last month from the Atlantic Council said Russia and China have long supported Iran’s military capability by sending Iran dual-use technology that can have military or civilian uses.

🚨 BREAKING: President Trump slaps 50% tariff on ANY country supplying Iran with military weapons, on ALL goods sold to the US

"There will be no exclusions or exemptions!"

Effective immediately 🔥

Good! pic.twitter.com/t6MLwWa9by

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 8, 2026

Reuters last month said China and Iran were near a deal that would supply Chinese anti-ship missiles to Iran.

A report in The New York Times said Russia is the top nation from which Iran buys weapons.

Although Trump said Tuesday night that he would hold off for two weeks on massive airstrikes he said were planned against Iranian infrastructure, tough talk still flowed from America and Iran Wednesday.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Iran needs to turn over the 970 pounds of enriched uranium it has, before the U., S. comes to get it.

He said U.S. Special Operations troops could still enter Iran to remove the material from beneath the rubble of American airstrikes from June.

“If we have to, we can do it by any means necessary,” Hegseth said.

The Times also noted that Saudi Arabia reported it was attacked after the ceasefire took effect.

Hegseth:

Iran begged for this ceasefire — and we all know it. pic.twitter.com/S3XzEVHazJ

— Clash Report (@clashreport) April 8, 2026

Although Iran on paper agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping, Iran’s military was sending a different message, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The Journal reported that, according to a radio message recorded by a ship near the strait, Iran’s navy says no one can move without its blessing.

“You must receive permission from Iranian Sepah navy for passing through the Strait. If any vessel tries to transit without permission, will be destroyed,” the message said.

The Sepah navy is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

“Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, and subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks,” President Donald Trump announced Tuesday evening.

“This will be a double sided CEASEFIRE! The reason for doing so is that we have already met and exceeded all Military objectives, and are very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning Longterm PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East."

Iran announced roughly the same thing, which means that -- for the time being -- pretty much everyone is safe, including what's left of Iran's leadership.

That brings to mind an interesting question that many were asking on social media:

Now that there is a ceasefire, Mojtaba Khamenei should prove he's alive and hold a press conference now that there's a ceasefire.

He hasn't been seen a single time in over a month.

Weird.

— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) April 8, 2026

Yes -- where art thou, Mojtaba Khamenei, the new Ayatollah of Iran?

The son of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was appointed his leader in the stead of his father, who was killed on the first day of Operation Epic Fury. He didn't actually appear when he was named leader, mind you, but you could chalk this off (if you were naïve) on the fact that he didn't want to meet the same fate.

A trickle of statements came out from the new Ayatollah Khamenei. Heck, one came out after the ceasefire was announced and read on Iranian state media.

"This is not the end of the war, but all military branches should follow the Supreme Leader’s order and cease fire," he said in the statement, according to the Times of India.

But not even a video?

Of course, this brings up the most uncomfortable aspect of the immediate end of the ceasefire for Iran, which is that they'll have to reveal who exactly is in charge. Khamenei the younger, according to intelligence reports, was comatose in a Moscow hospital and didn't even know the war was going on.

Iran didn't even go out of its way to acknowledge these reports, much less refute them, simply giving the impression that everything was proceeding as normal. They did acknowledge, however, that the younger Khamenei was wounded in the attack that killed his father.

And, in a Monday evening Times of London report, U.S. intelligence still said the "supreme leader" wasn't in a condition to be leading anything.

“Mojtaba Khamenei is being treated in Qom in a severe condition, unable to be involved in any decision-making by the regime,” a memo obtained by the paper and based on American and Israeli intelligence read.

While the memo the Times obtained did not describe him as comatose, it did say he was still unconscious and being treated for a "severe" but unspecified medical condition.

Qom, roughly 90 miles south of Tehran, is considered a sacred city to adherents of the Shiite branch of Islam. That's important in part because intelligence agencies had concluded the regime was "laying the groundworks needed to build a large mausoleum in Qom" and that this complex was being prepared for "more than one grave" -- i.e., more than one Khamenei.

Again, how good or bad this is for the regime depends on your estimation of the younger Khamenei. His father's wasn't very high; he didn't want his son to take the position, not just because of the theocratic principle that the Ayatollah cannot be a hereditary position but because he was apparently none-too-bright and also was rumored to have homosexual dalliances.

But, now that there's been a two week cessation in hostilities, Tehran has a question to answer: Do they have a poor leader, or effectively no leader? And if the latter is the case, who even gets to negotiate terms here? That's a lot to answer for in just a fortnight.

On Tuesday night, Trump said that at the insistence of Pakistani officials who were serving as go-betweens he would cancel his planned attacks on Iran and agree to a two-week pause on the condition that Iran open the Strait of Hormuz.

As noted by Fox News, Iran later issued a statement saying the strait would be open. Israel also agreed to stop its attacks on Iran.

“A big day for World Peace! Iran wants it to happen, they’ve had enough! Likewise, so has everyone else!” Trump posted on Truth Social.

.@SECWAR "Other presidents marked time and kicked the can down the road. President Trump made HISTORY.

From the STRIKE that took out Qasem Soleimani…
To TEARING up the disastrous Obama Iran Deal…
To the PRECISION campaign that obliterated Iran’s nuclear sites in Operation… pic.twitter.com/89FKvP2jsw

— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) April 8, 2026

“The United States of America will be helping with the traffic buildup in the Strait of Hormuz. There will be lots of positive action! Big money will be made,” Trump wrote.

“Iran can start the reconstruction process. We’ll be loading up with supplies of all kinds, and just ‘hangin’ around’ in order to make sure that everything goes well. I feel confident that it will.

“Just like we are experiencing in the U.S., this could be the Golden Age of the Middle East!!!”

In a later post, he signaled his hopes that the ceasefire with Iran will become a permanent peace.

“The United States will work closely with Iran, which we have determined has gone through what will be a very productive Regime Change!!” Trump wrote.

Trump said Iran’s nuclear leftovers will be confiscated.

“There will be no enrichment of Uranium, and the United States will, working with Iran, dig up and remove all of the deeply buried (B-2 Bombers) Nuclear ‘Dust.’ It is now, and has been, under very exacting Satellite Surveillance (Space Force!),” he wrote. “Nothing has been touched from the date of attack.”

Trump said progress is being made on contentious issues.

“We are, and will be, talking Tariff and Sanctions relief with Iran. Many of the 15 points have already been … agreed to,” he wrote.

Like everyone, I hope we can end the reign of terror of the Iranian regime through diplomacy.

We must remember that the Strait of Hormuz was attacked by Iran after the start of the war, destroying freedom of navigation. Going forward, it is imperative Iran is not rewarded for… pic.twitter.com/6DxVIkTd58

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) April 7, 2026

Despite the upbeat words, peace had not arrived as of Wednesday morning, according to the Times of Israel.

Iran claimed an oil refinery on Lavan Island was attacked, and in response fired missiles and drones at Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

Israel said that its air force hit multiple sites in Lebanon, which would go against comments from Pakistani officials to Fox News that the two-week ceasefire deal would cover the war between Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah.

Republican Clay Fuller defeated Democrat Shawn Harris in the 14th Congressional District, according to Politico.

With 99 percent of the votes counted, Fuller had 55.9 percent of the votes, while Harris had 44.1 percent of the votes cast. The runoff election was necessary because a March special election that featured more than 20 candidates ended with no one getting more than 50 percent of the vote, as noted by Politico.

THANK YOU, Mr. President.

This is the honor of a lifetime. I will not let you or Georgia’s 14th District down.

Our work to put America first is just getting started! pic.twitter.com/YjBsu2v0Rm

— Clay Fuller (@Clay4MainStreet) February 5, 2026

After the win, Fuller said Trump's support was crucial, according to Fox News.

"He was the difference maker," Fuller said. "He was the key factor in us winning… Our results prove that President Trump means a ton to Georgia 14."

"I think the voters in Georgia 14 understand that, and they're looking forward to sending a MAGA America first fighter up on Capitol Hill to support that agenda," he said prior to the voting.

Fuller added that pro-Trump voters "would crawl through glass to make sure they have a representative up there that fights for them and fights for President Trump."

Fuller’s campaign website said that he was the district attorney for the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit -- covering four counties in northwestern Georgia -- and that he had secured multiple convictions.

Fuller is also a Lieutenant Colonel and a Deputy Staff Judge Advocate in the Air National Guard.

Fuller was a White House Fellow from 2018 to 2019 in Trump’s first term. Between May and November 2024, Fuller was deployed as the legal advisor to the Combined Air Operations Center at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina and Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

Congratulations to Congressman-Elect @Clay4MainStreet on winning the special election in #GA14! I look forward to working together to continue delivering results and saving America! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/TlE6iEIz6c

— Mike Johnson (@MikeJohnson) April 8, 2026

Fuller’s website said he “will use his legal skills to fight back against the radical left as they try to limit our Constitutional freedoms, most importantly those enshrined in our 1st and 2nd Amendments.”

“Our God given rights shall NOT be infringed, period. As a devout Christian, Clay knows the U.S. Constitution and American way of life were inspired by the teachings of Christ, and as an Air Force veteran, Clay understands the sacred duty of safeguarding our God given freedoms,” the site said.

“Clay supports all efforts to empower the Trump Administration as they seek to remove the millions of illegal immigrants who do not have permission to be in this country. Border Security is National Security,” the site added.

The site noted that Fuller will continue his efforts to fight crime as he moves to Washington.

“Clay has worked with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to hold lawbreakers accountable and take down criminal networks,” the site continued.

“Clay will keep up the fight in Congress and work with President Trump to defeat the Narco Traffickers who have destroyed countless families across NW Georgia, and end the scourge of fentanyl in NW Georgia."

With its upcoming opening, the Obama Presidential Center Museum in Chicago is requiring photo identification of visitors who want to qualify for free or reduced-price admission -- making it a veritable monument to a leader of the American political party that's dead set against voter ID.

But it isn't parody at all -- it's a reality that shines a spotlight on Democratic hypocrisy.

"Someone make this make sense," as one user wrote on the social media platform X.

Someone make this make sense.

To get into the Obama Center, you need an Illinois driver’s license, state ID, or Chicago CityKey card to receive discounted or free admission.

But you don’t need any of the above to enter the voting booth. https://t.co/sFPx4s6AtV

— Jen (@IlliniJen) April 6, 2026

The mammoth museum is due to open in June, but it's already generating backlash over a policy that's basically the polar opposite of the Democrats' unified opposition to proposed federal laws that would require photo identification to register and vote.

The museum will offer free admission on Tuesdays to those with a photo identification as well as some proof of Illinois residency. On the other six days of the week, it will offer reduced-price admission to Illinois residents -- who must have photo identification to prove they're Illinois residents.

Keep in mind that this center celebrates a former president who took to X in February to oppose the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act because it would impose a photo ID requirement for voter registration.

(The proposed SAVE America Act is similar but would require voter ID to actually cast a ballot, as well.)

In a post, Obama called the SAVE Act "a bill that would make it harder to vote and disenfranchise millions of Americans."

Republicans are still trying to pass the SAVE Act—a bill that would make it harder to vote and disenfranchise millions of Americans. Join @RedistrictAct and tell your member of Congress to vote no: https://t.co/Cc4JHKr73Q pic.twitter.com/tUyxEbYJ0y

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) February 11, 2026

But his own presidential center museum apparently has no problem with a policy that they would say makes it harder for even Americans unfortunate enough to be Illinois residents to reap the benefit of a free or reduced-price admission.

Do the operators think individuals might lie about their actual residency? But the Democratic Party has no similar qualms about any Tom, Dick, or Haroldo showing up at a polling station and casting a ballot for the president of the United States? (Or a senator, or congressman?)

Which is more likely, that in the almost 4 million square miles that make up the United States (3 million excluding Alaska and Hawaii) a sizable number of individuals might be motivated to cast an illegal vote? Or that there are enough losers and bums in the United States to worry about the number of them who will be motivated enough to want to go to the Obama Center and lie about where they live to get in free?

Sane Americans might think voting is more important than a day trip into Democratic delusion.

In fact, even Barack Obama with his legendary arrogance -- and his sycophantic followers in politics, the establishment media, and entertainment -- can't believe he's that popular.

Critics on social media, and there were plenty, called out the Democratic double standards about being exposed so shamelessly.

Obama Presidential Center many noticed the billion dollar Chicago museum will require an ID to enter the building.

Aren’t the Democrats against ID?!

— Judy (@judytgolf) April 7, 2026

Nice of the Obama library to offer free admission, but women, minorities, and poor people can’t go because you need an ID. Why does he want to keep these people out?

— RtJonesey (@RebsFinsUp) April 7, 2026

Of course they will demand ID. Hypocrites.

— D i a n a (@Dinkyfish66) April 7, 2026

Obama’s Presidential Center requires that Illinois residents show valid identification to receive free admission on certain days, seriously discriminating against blacks they claim can’t get ID. https://t.co/GY3YOIGNAG

— Spicey Bits (@SpiceyBits) April 7, 2026

As Fox News noted, the ticket and ID controversy isn't the only bad ink the project has generated.

Obama White House consigliere Valerie Jarrett is heading up the operation, with an annual salary of $740,000 as CEO, according to a Fox report from March.

The project's $850 million cost has been funded by private donors (no doubt with an eye on favors from future Democratic administrations), but Chicago and Illinois taxpayers are on the hook for public infrastructure improvements that it has required.

That cost was originally supposed to be $350 million, according to Fox, but so far the state has allocated $229 million while Chicago has allocated $200 million. (Crazy to believe, but a public works project is running over budget in Chicago, Illinois.)

As infuriating as it might be learning that the project's executives are being paid outrageous salaries, or that the oh-so-predictable specter of public corruption is hanging over the Obama Center like Banquo's ghost, it's the sheer gall of a former Democratic president demanding photo ID for entrance perks that might be the most laughably maddening touch of all.

Just because it isn't a parody doesn't mean it isn't a joke.

And the joke's on American voters.

The finding is consistent with recent polling showing a noticeable rise in people indicating that they've made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ.

The prayer app Hallow said in a news release that new original data it has compiled regarding the Roman Catholic Church showed a "significant rise in catechumens and candidates across the United States in 2026."

"Based on data compiled exclusively by Hallow from more than 140 of the 175 U.S. dioceses (more than 80%), dioceses are experiencing a 38% annual increase on average in individuals entering the Church through the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA)," the release said.

The four largest Catholic dioceses in the U.S. saw significant growth, including Los Angeles at 139 percent; Chicago, up 52 percent; New York, up 36 percent; and Phoenix, which saw a 23 percent increase.

“Really incredible to see what’s going on across dioceses in the US this Easter. The Lord is truly at work, bringing so many back to Him and to experience His love right now,” Hallow CEO and co-founder Alex Jones said.

“As we see firsthand at Hallow the impact of what so many priests, sisters, Church leaders, and more are doing across parishes in the US, it’s beautiful to see the fruits of their labor and the ways folks are reaching for the Lord.”

The U.S. Catholic Church experienced an estimated 38% increase in adult converts over the Easter weekend, driven by young men in their 20s, according to an analysis of data from 140 of the nation’s 175 dioceses.

Hallow, a Catholic prayer and meditation app with more than 15… pic.twitter.com/GqrIc3LNEW

— Trad West (@trad_west_) April 7, 2026

Michael New, a social researcher at the Catholic University of America, told The Washington Times, “I think this reflects a pushback against secular liberalism, feminism, and transgender stuff."

“Catholic young adult groups are one of the few places where many young people can question socially liberal positions without fear of being marginalized or ostracized,” he added.

A Barna poll published in April 2025 found that “66 percent of all U.S. adults say they have made a personal commitment to Jesus that is still important in their life today. That marks a 12-percentage-point increase since 2021, when commitment levels reached their lowest in more than three decades of Barna tracking.”

“This shift is not only statistically significant -- it may be the clearest indication of meaningful spiritual renewal in the United States,” the organization said.

Gen Z and Millennials are fueling the faith renewal, and the turn is most pronounced among men.

In 2019, 52 percent of Gen Z men said they had made a personal commitment to following Jesus, but by 2025, 67 percent had. Among women, the number moved from 54 percent in 2019 to 61 percent in 2025.

And with Millennial men, the move was 52 percent to 71 percent by 2025, and among women, 58 percent to 64 percent.

NEW: Hundreds of college students were baptized at the University of Pittsburgh.

"Hundreds made decisions to go all in with Jesus tonight and were baptized at the University of Pittsburgh!" said Unite US' Tonya Prewett.

"God continues to do something new on every campus, and… pic.twitter.com/ZpzlfX89eF

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) April 4, 2026

Following Charlie Kirk's assassination in September 2025, 2.4 million Bibles were sold in the U.S. that month, a 36 percent jump, Fox Business reported, further fueling the youth faith awakening.

Michael Maiden, lead pastor of Church for the Nations in Phoenix, told The Western Journal in the fall of 2023, as large Christian gatherings were starting to take place regularly on college campuses, that America was in the first stages of revival.

“There are measurable signs in the culture, not of a broad, complete revival, but the beginning kernels popping or… the first waves of something good happening,” he said.

“Revival’s not when the culture changes; revival’s when hearts are won to Jesus. And the consequence of that is a change in culture,” Maiden explained.

Powerful, packed service at Church for the Nations in Phoenix on Easter: “Because He lives!” pic.twitter.com/zzp2W5UV3Z

— Randy DeSoto (@RandyDeSoto) April 8, 2026

At Sunday's Easter service for his church, the pastor observed, "As we study demographically, there's like really five generations -- Baby Boomers, [Gen] X, Millennials, [Gen] Zs, Alphas... but we've never seen, as we've studied behavior and spiritual beliefs and cultural activity, we've never seen a generation more hungry and more open to God than the Zs."

"They are the most spiritually hungry generation in American history. What does that mean? Revival's here," he proclaimed.

So let's pray that it continues and grows, in Jesus' name.

A new study comparing the four biggest news aggregation apps -- Apple News, Google News, Yahoo News, and MSN -- has effectively confirmed longstanding conservative concerns that the news landscape was tilting heavily toward leftism and against conservatism.

According to the Media Research Center Free Speech America, a study of those "big four" found that all of them lean heavily toward promoting leftist headlines almost exclusively.

But one of them isn’t just tilted. It’s practically leaning over. And in a twist that should surprise absolutely no one who’s been paying attention, Apple’s platform once again comes out on top as the most aggressively slanted of the bunch.

MRC analyzed Apple News's top 20 daily stories each morning in March and measured the bias of the stories it was sourcing by using AllSides.

Lo and behold, MRC reported: "Apple News selected articles from left-leaning media outlets for 434 out of 592 total AllSides-rated stories in the top 20 of its morning editions throughout March."

Yahoo News meanwhile featured 400 left-leaning media stories, Google News ran 382 of them, and MSN had 226.

In total, Apple News featured five conservative-leaning articles in all of March -- all from Fox News.

Of particular concern, those five articles were actually a dip from February, when Apple News posted a mere eight conservative-leaning news stories.

“Apple News just took the crown from Yahoo as the most radical news app, even after the FTC delivered an official warning to the company,” Dan Schneider, vice president of MRC Free Speech America, said.

“I think Tim Cook is sending a clear message to President Trump and to Chairman Ferguson: Apple is far more interested in pushing radicalism than in providing Americans with balanced news," Schneider added, referring to the Apple CEO.

"Our nation cannot survive if most voters are being fed propaganda and leftist myths.”

Schneider is right, and anybody who's not hopelessly ideological should take note of this and call it out -- as Apple users have been doing for years now.

What makes this more than just another media gripe is the sheer scale and subtlety of it. News aggregation apps are ultimately gatekeepers, quietly deciding what millions of people see -- and don’t see -- every single day. When that gatekeeping consistently favors one ideological lane, it does nothing more than reinforce bias. Over time, that kind of "curation" conditions readers far more than it informs.

And that should concern more than just conservatives.

An information ecosystem that overwhelmingly filters out dissenting viewpoints doesn’t create smarter, more informed citizens. If you never meaningfully encounter the arguments, priorities, or concerns of the other side, you can't actually understand them. You end up shadowboxing a strawman, one shaped more by friendly headlines than by reality.

That’s both intellectually lazy and strategically foolish. Even from a purely self-interested standpoint, insulating yourself in an echo chamber only makes your views weaker. Ideas sharpen through friction. Without it, they calcify.

If liberals truly believe in the strength of their positions -- and yes, there's ample reason to think they don't -- they should want exposure to competing perspectives, if only to test, refine, and defend their own beliefs against real arguments instead of algorithmically curated ones.

At the end of the day, this isn’t about demanding ideological “balance” for its own sake, or forcing anyone to consume viewpoints they dislike.

It’s about recognizing that a healthy republic depends on a shared baseline of reality -- one that can’t exist if the most widely used news platforms are quietly stacking the deck.

After trading at a high of $117.48 at 11:09 a.m. Eastern, it had already decreased somewhat to $95.95 by 11:10 p.m. -- normal fluctuations during a time of hostilities.

On Tuesday evening, Trump announced on Truth Social that a two-week ceasefire had been agreed to between the two sides -- and the bottom fell out of the prices.

"Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, and subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks," Trump said in the post.

He added that "we have already met and exceeded all Military objectives, and are very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning Longterm PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East."

𝐃𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐝 𝐉. 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐩 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝟎𝟕:𝟑𝟐 𝐏𝐌 𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝟎𝟒.𝟎𝟕.𝟐𝟔 pic.twitter.com/QEeflm2ma9

— Commentary Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) April 8, 2026

According to CNBC, Iran's foreign minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, said vessels would be given safe passage during negotiations in "coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces and with due consideration to technical limitations."

The immediate impact? Oil prices had dipped substantially from intraday highs.

BREAKING: Within moments of Trump's ceasefire announcement, oil prices began to plummet and bottomed out down 22%, before rebounding slightly. pic.twitter.com/a6KaUIJTlv

— The Western Journal (@WesternJournalX) April 8, 2026

While the prices had rebounded slightly by 9 p.m., crude contracts were still trading mostly in the $96.00 range.

The Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of the world's oil passes, was Iran's last remaining bastion of security in the conflict with U.S., Israeli, and other Middle Eastern forces.

While its defensive positions had been considerably degraded and attacks on military or other civilian targets were scarcer as Operation Epic Fury wore on, the risk to tankers -- civilian vessels which do not have countermeasures -- still existed.

This had caused the price of oil to spike, with some outlets predicting a worst-case scenario of $200 per barrel.

However, oil never got above $120 per barrel during the conflict.

In addition to the plunge in oil prices, CNN reported that Asian markets were up in early trading, with Japan's Nikkei 225 index up 4.8 percent and South Korea's Kospi spiking 5.7 percent.

Analysts, however, remained cautious about whether a long-term agreement could be reached based on what was announced Tuesday night.

“The market has been eager to get good news but it remains to be seen if the Strait of Hormuz opens fully,” Bob McNally, founder and president of Rapidan Energy Group, remarked.

“That’s the whole ball of wax and so far Washington and Tehran seem to be talking past each other on that.”

In an interview Thursday on Newsmax's "Finnerty," Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee told host Rob Finnerty that "this country would have come unglued" if the public had seen what he saw during a briefing on alien life two weeks earlier.

Of course, the public has not seen such evidence, because our lords and masters in government conceal it from us.

Admittedly, Burchett provided no details, which makes it impossible to determine whether his claim qualifies as jaw-dropping or merely hyperbolic.

Either way, one cannot deny the serious context in which the congressman made those statements.

In recent months, a shocking number of scientists and others with connections to NASA and sensitive government research have either gone missing or lost their lives to violence.

At the beginning of the interview, Finnerty highlighted several of those individuals. Then, the host turned to Burchett, who speculated about possible connections.

"I don't know exactly," the congressman said. "I just know there are no coincidences in this town. These folks disappeared or died mysteriously. And the only thing that ties them together is the fact that they worked on things that are dealing with outer space, whether it's UFOs or nuclear secrets, or missiles, or what have you."

Burchett then demanded "full disclosure" while explaining why "full disclosure" never happens in government.

"You know," he said, "when I'm in a meeting, in a closed-door meeting, and I ask about the president's points on these, and then I'm told by some arrogant, unelected bureaucrat that the president is on a need-to-know basis, I think that says everything that needs to be said about what's going on."

In other words, if bureaucrats have that attitude toward the president, what must they think about ordinary Americans? And what chance do we have of ever breaking through the federal government's unconstitutional veil of secrecy?

Moments later, Finnerty asked Burchett about recent comments by former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, who told conservative podcaster Benny Johnson about a U.S. Army official who briefed him on the existence and locations of a hybrid alien-human breeding program.

Burchett, who sits on the House Oversight Committee's UAP subcommittee, neither confirmed nor denied Gaetz's assertion.

The Tennessee congressman, however, did address that assertion in more general terms.

"I've been briefed by just about every alphabet agency there is," he told Finnerty. "And I'll just tell you this. If they would release the things that I've seen, you would stay up -- you would be up at night worrying about, er, thinking about this stuff. We just need to disclose it all. I'm sick of it."

Burchett then provided a recent example, albeit without specifics.

"I was briefed -- I'll just tell you this -- I was briefed last week on an issue, or, excuse me, two weeks ago, and it would have set the Earth on -- this, this country would have come unglued, I think, if they would have heard all that I heard. They would demand answers."

The congressman then returned to the original story of the missing or dead scientists.

"The people that know are dying or disappearing, as the case may be" he said moments later. "And for the record, I'm not suicidal. And I don't take risks."

Readers may watch the entire interview in the YouTube video below.

Again, in the absence of details, one can hardly evaluate Burchett's most extraordinary claims.

As for the haughtiness of government bureaucrats and the secrets they unconstitutionally keep, however, we have no need to speculate, because we have seen numerous examples of both.

In short, the alien life-related claims remain a mere curiosity until we learn more. But the system that allows unelected government officials to shield information from elected ones, even from the president, must end.

According to John Ourand of Puck, an "unexpected revenue dip" will trigger imminent layoffs at ESPN.

"I can now confirm that another round [of layoffs] is approaching," Ourand wrote.

In June 2023, ESPN announced that it had parted ways with NFL reporter Suzy Kolber, NFL draft analyst Todd McShay, and nearly two dozen other familiar faces.

Unlike its most recent purge, this time, the network will not slash on-air talent.

"I’m told the number will land near 30, with cuts expected in the coming weeks, primarily in off-camera departments," Ourand added.

Though technically "unexpected," the recent "revenue dip" did occur at least partly due to ESPN's own actions.

Last fall, the network found itself in what Ourand called a "brutal carriage dispute" with YouTube TV. As a result, ESPN "went dark on the platform right in the middle of football season."

In the heady days of the late-20th and early-21st centuries, when ESPN enjoyed a virtual monopoly on cable-sports programming, the network would have had considerable leverage over nearly any negotiating partner.

Even today, ESPN's rights to college football and the NFL's "Monday Night Football" make it a formidable name in broadcasting.

Nonetheless, times have changed.

"ESPN has shed 40 percent of its cable and satellite subscribers over the past decade, declining from 100 million households to 60 million," Ourand wrote.

Moreover, the NFL's ever-expanding popularity means that any acquiring network will pay handsomely for the next "Monday Night Football" package.

Above all, however, ESPN found itself in a disadvantageous position relative to the digital juggernaut YouTube.

In this case, "YouTube TV had the juice -- it was, after all, a privileged shingle of the world’s largest media company, YouTube, which itself was a shingle of Alphabet, a nearly $4 trillion market-cap colossus," Ourand wrote.

As a result, ESPN went dark on YouTube TV for 15 days. Thus, subscribers lost out on two full weekends of marquee football games, both college and pro.

Disney, ESPN's parent company, reported $100 million in losses due to that dispute with YouTube TV. Those losses at least partially account for the coming layoffs.

Of course, in recent years, ESPN has also embraced woke ideology. So has the NFL.

Looking forward, if the broadcasting giant hopes to avoid financial losses and another purge of employees, it will rely heavily on its relationship with the NFL, which includes full control of NFL Network for ESPN and a 10 percent equity stake in ESPN for the NFL.

The announcement that West, who now bills himself as "Ye," would headline London’s Wireless Festival touched off a backlash due to West’s history of anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi comments, according to the BBC.

"The Home Office has withdrawn Ye's ETA, denying him entry into the United Kingdom. As a result, Wireless Festival is cancelled and refunds will be issued to all ticket holders,” the festival announced. ETA stands for Electronic Travel Authorization, which is required for visits of up to six months.

"As with every Wireless Festival, multiple stakeholders were consulted in advance of booking Ye and no concerns were highlighted at the time,” the statement said.

Kanye West should never have been invited to headline Wireless.

This government stands firmly with the Jewish community, and we will not stop in our fight to confront and defeat the poison of antisemitism.

We will always take the action necessary to protect the public and…

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) April 7, 2026

"Anti-Semitism in all its forms is abhorrent, and we recognize the real and personal impact these issues have had. As Ye said today, he acknowledges that words alone are not enough, and in spite of this still hopes to be given the opportunity to begin a conversation with the Jewish community in the UK,” the festival said.

The Home Office said the decision to ban West was made on the basis that “his presence would not be conducive to the public good,” the BBC reported.

🚨 WATCH: Nigel Farage says the Government shouldn't ban Kanye West from coming to the UK

"If we start banning people from entering the country because we don't like what they say, I worry where that ends up... it's a dangerous path to go down" pic.twitter.com/M1NFkvuND5

— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) April 7, 2026

A representative of the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism was caustic in responding to the cancellation.

"How did it come to this? Apparently 'no concerns were highlighted' about Kanye West at the time of the booking. Who were they consulting? A wall? That's what happens when the only stakeholders you speak to are those who stand to make a profit,” the representative said.

"It's nice that now Wireless is saying 'Antisemitism in all its forms is abhorrent' when just a few hours ago the festival promoter was saying we all need to forgive Kanye for declaring himself a full-blown Nazi only recently,” the representative said.

‘I don't think people will be making attacks on the Jewish community based on Kanye West performing.’

Caller Cameron tells @NickFerrariLBC that Wireless sponsors pulling out is ‘virtue signalling’, given the festival ‘consistently platforms artists who talk about degeneracy’. pic.twitter.com/nJgvOueeSA

— LBC (@LBC) April 7, 2026

In hopes of salvaging his appearance, West took out an ad in The Wall Street Journal saying “I am not a Nazi or an antisemite,” he wrote, adding, “I love Jewish people,” according to the Guardian.

In the ad, he said his bipolar-1 disorder, which he attributed to brain injury from a 2002 car crash, was responsible for any offensive statements.

West had apologized for anti-Semitic comments in 2023, but then in 2025 began selling swastika T-shirts and recorded a song called “Heil Hitler.”

West followed up the ad with a final attempt to sway minds.

I couldn’t care less what Kanye West says or does. If Brits want to part with their money to watch him shout into a microphone, let them.

He’s a nutcase. But it should be up to those people who purchased a ticket if they attend his events. Not Starmer.

Banning him is too far.

— Rupert Lowe MP (@RupertLowe10) April 7, 2026

“My only goal is to come to London and present a show of change, bringing unity, peace, and love through my music,” he said in a statement, according to CNN.

“Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, and subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

“This will be a double sided CEASEFIRE! The reason for doing so is that we have already met and exceeded all Military objectives, and are very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning Longterm PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East,” Trump posted about 90 minutes before the deadline for a deal.

Iran's decades of terrorism won't continue under President Trump. pic.twitter.com/jpPd5W2AVi

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 7, 2026

“We received a 10 point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate. Almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and consummated,” Trump wrote.

“On behalf of the United States of America, as President, and also representing the Countries of the Middle East, it is an Honor to have this Longterm problem close to resolution,” he wrote.

Earlier Tuesday, Trump was asked by Sharif to postpone for two weeks the attacks Trump said he had been planning.

“To allow diplomacy to run its course, I earnestly request President Trump to extend the deadline for two weeks,” he said in a statement, according to the Times of Israel.

“Pakistan, in all sincerity, requests the Iranian brothers to open Strait of Hormuz for a corresponding period of two weeks as a goodwill gesture,” he said.

“We also urge all warring parties to observe a ceasefire everywhere for two weeks to allow diplomacy to achieve conclusive termination of war, in the interest of long-term peace and stability in the region,” Sharif said.

Attacks were taking place as well.

As noted by The New York Times, Israeli warplanes attacked petrochemical plants and an aluminum plant.

On Monday, a report from  Axios said negotiators were shuttling between U.S. and Iranian negotiators to craft a 45-day cease-fire that could be a precursor to the end of the war.

The framework of a deal was developed by Pakistan, according to the Jerusalem Post, which cited a source it did not name.

Trump had warned Iran that time was running out.

On Sunday,  Trump warned on Truth Social: “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day,” as he urged Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz and make a deal to end its war with America or face massive attacks. He posted that 8 p.m. Eastern Time would be zero hour.

The rhetoric grew even stronger Monday.

"The entire country can be taken out in one night -- and that night might be tomorrow night," he said then, according to the BBC.

On Tuesday, the threats ascended even further.

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” Trump posted Tuesday on Truth Social. “I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.”

Fox News host Will Cain pointed out how Soleimani's family members were "very active" on social media sites like Instagram and Facebook, adding that they appear to be living a "glamorous, very fabulous lifestyle" that included "posing with helicopters and airplanes and luxury brands."

Cain said this extravagant lifestyle is coming to an end, as the U.S. is preparing to deport Soleimani's niece and grandniece, after they continued to post disparaging remarks about America while simultaneously praising Iran.

“Well, they were dressed like a bunch of hookers," Burchett replied. "And they wouldn’t be able to do that in their own dadgum country, that’s for sure. And you have to ask yourself, what the heck was the Biden and Obama administrations doing?"

"Obama was sending them pallets of cash," he continued. "Biden was letting everybody in over our border. We've been told maybe we could have 500 members of the Taliban that have gotten into our country at some time during the last four years under the Biden administration."

Cain: Visas have been pulled away from these two women living in Los Angeles. Very fabulous lifestyle that they were living, posing with luxury brands.

Burchett: They’re dressed like hookers. Let her dress like that in her own country. pic.twitter.com/Sxh2q7ahOb

— Acyn (@Acyn) April 6, 2026

The GOP lawmaker said the United States must start cleaning house when it comes to people like this and even suggested that a corrupt non-profit or NGO likely provided Soleimani's family U.S. taxpayer money to come here to bash America.

“But we ought to start – we need a cleaning. And this needs to start right now,” Burchett explained. “This is a perfect example of what we need to be doing, because I guarantee you the money they’re spending is probably somehow shipped over there to an NGO in one of those countries from American taxpayers or the United Nations."

"And they come back over here, and they trash this great country," he concluded. "And they all need to go back. Let her dress like that in Iran and see how far -- she'll get hung off of a building, is what they will do."

President Donald Trump announced the killing of Soleimani in January of 2020, calling him "the number-one terrorist anywhere in the world."

"Soleimani was plotting imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel, but we caught him in the act and terminated him," Trump said following his death.

"Under my leadership, America’s policy is unambiguous: To terrorists who harm or intend to harm any American, we will find you; we will eliminate you," the president declared. "We will always protect our diplomats, service members, all Americans, and our allies."

"Around four-in-ten Republicans and GOP-leaning independents (38%) say the U.S. benefits a great deal or a fair amount from being part of NATO -- down from 49% last year," the Monday article read.

"A majority of Republicans (60%) now say the U.S. benefits not too much or not at all from being part of the alliance, up from 50% in 2025," it continued. "This marks the first time in our surveys that a majority of Republicans have expressed this view."

The survey was fielded in late March, before President Donald Trump said he was considering withdrawing the U.S. from the alliance altogether after members refused to join America and Israel against Iran.

This news also comes after The Economist published a piece on Easter Sunday entitled, "European allies are losing hope of keeping America in NATO."

The story cited Trump's frustrations with European allies, specifically their refusal to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz in an effort to stabilize shipping and decrease oil prices.

"Several European countries have made American operations in the Middle East more difficult," the story read.

"The president’s imprecations have been echoed by Marco Rubio, his secretary of state, once a staunch defender of the transatlantic alliance," the article explained. "Calling NATO 'a one-way street,' Mr Rubio declared: 'There is no doubt, unfortunately, after this conflict is concluded we are going to have to re-examine that relationship.'"

This has reportedly led to a "funeral mood" among European leadership.

Rubio, once seen as a staunch supporter of strengthening America's ties to NATO, is now in lockstep with the commander-in-chief.

“This is the worst moment that NATO has faced,” former American ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder said.

He added, “Rather than trying to convince Donald Trump not to leave, allies have to focus… on strengthening their military capacity.”

Kurt Volker, another former American ambassador to NATO, said European countries are “responding emotionally against Donald Trump, not rationally, in accordance with their interest.”

Not only has Trump called out NATO for not paying their fair share for defense, but he's condemned them for having an ungrateful attitude toward the U.S. and for not stepping up when called upon.

When European leaders gathered to discuss the Iran conflict and decided to wash their hands of the entire ordeal, it could prove to be the final nail in the coffin for the historic alliance.

Meanwhile, the Huskies -- a recent juggernaut in their own right -- showed how honest competitors should treat one another.

A 45-second clip posted to the social media platform X showed head coach Dan Hurley and the Connecticut players waiting respectfully for the Wolverines to finish their immediate post-game celebration before shaking hands.

Matt Norlander of CBS Sports shared the clip.

"Really good moment: Dan Hurley and the entire UConn team waited for the Michigan players to come back after their immediate celebration to shake their heads and congratulate them on winning the national title," Norlander wrote.

Really good moment: Dan Hurley and the entire UConn team waited for the Michigan players to come back after their immediate celebration to shake their heads and congratulate them on winning the national title. pic.twitter.com/pwJDeqFC47

— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) April 7, 2026

On X, the majority of users -- including some Connecticut fans -- mimicked the Huskies' sportsmanship.

This is how it's done. Love my Huskies and they had a great season. Congrats to Michigan on winning the Championship!

— Partyless_Politics (@bipartisanburns) April 7, 2026

Hats off to a tremendous Michigan squad. No shame losing to that team. UCONN far exceeded my expectations. So proud of them and everything they accompllshed and their never-say-die attitude. Coach Hurley brought out the best in them.

— Fansini (@TheTropaion) April 7, 2026

Huge respect to Coach Hurley for this and his positive post-game comments on the officials. An all-time great coach.

— Russell (@HoosierDaddyMI) April 7, 2026

Unlike many of its recent games, Michigan had to grind out a tough victory over a formidable Connecticut squad.

The Wolverines, who had scored at least 90 points in all five of their previous NCAA Tournament games, struggled to a 33-29 halftime lead over the Huskies.

Nonetheless, Michigan held Connecticut to an ice-cold 9-of-33 shooting from three-point range. Behind 19 points from junior guard Elliot Cadeau, the Wolverines held on for the six-point win.

From start to finish in 2025-26, Michigan exhibited its dominance. In a loaded Big Ten conference, the Wolverines finished 19-1 en route to a 37-3 record overall.

Moreover, despite one of the country's most challenging schedules, Michigan finished fourth overall in point differential at plus-17.8.

Thus, with Monday's victory, the Wolverines claimed their first national championship since 1989.

On the other side of the court, Connecticut sought its third national title in four years.

In the end, though they came up short, Hurley and the Huskies showed respect to a freshly-crowned fellow champion.

Independent journalist and online personality Nick Sortor shared a clip of Trump discussing the issue on the social media site X.

"How about Germany telling us that, 'Well, it's not their war, we had nothing to do with it.' They wanted me to go and tell them everything I was doing," Trump said. "If I would have told them, they would have leaked it, and we wouldn't have been nearly as successful."

🚨 JUST IN: President Trump is LAMBASTING Europe for standing on the sidelines — especially after we REBUILT EUROPE after WWII

"To the victor goes the spoils!"

"We BUILT Germany! How about Germany telling us that, 'well, it's not their war, we had nothing to do with it.'

But… pic.twitter.com/1Cp03qlPLK

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) April 6, 2026

Mediaite also covered the comments from Trump's Monday news conference and called the president's words "a shocking accusation against Germany." But is it really all that surprising?

Trump has continuously been critical of NATO, citing their pompous and contemptuous attitude toward America as offense number one.

He's also called them out for abusing the United States' benevolence, not paying their fair share when it comes to defense, and for having a short memory regarding the aftermath of World War II. And he's right!

The U.S. didn't demand land or money in exchange for all of the suffering caused by the Axis powers, and it didn't demand reparations from European nations for all of the support we gave them.

Instead, we asked only for land to bury our dead and instituted the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after saving it from total destruction.

"When World War II ended in 1945, Europe lay in ruins: its cities were shattered; its economies were devastated; its people faced famine. In the two years after the war, the Soviet Union’s control of Eastern Europe and the vulnerability of Western European countries to Soviet expansionism heightened the sense of crisis," according to the National Archives.

"Over the next four years, Congress appropriated $13.3 billion for European recovery," the National Archives article explained. "This aid provided much needed capital and materials that enabled Europeans to rebuild the continent’s economy."

When America called on those very same nations to assist in reopening the Strait of Hormuz back in March, to stabilize shipping and bring down oil prices, they curtly replied that it wasn't their problem.

Lest we forget Trump's tumultuous relationship with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the president is right not to trust them with sensitive information related to national security.

Furthermore, Europe's values are not our values. We have shared roots, but are now on totally different paths when it comes to geopolitics.

Many European Union countries have encouraged the mass migration of Islamic refugees and potential terrorists into their biggest cities. They tend to empower weak leaders who love to bash America and have turned their backs on Christianity.

The European Union seeks to employ a global strategy when it comes to governance, whereas the United States prioritizes its own citizens and sovereignty, rejecting the false doctrine of one-world government.

Even the idea of scaling back the welfare state and government bureaucracy would be roundly rejected in European nations today, yet America is embracing it.

Certain European leaders even expressed dismay back in 2025 after Trump was able to reach a new trade agreement with the European Union.

Do these sound like the actions of an ally? It sounds more like a jealous older sibling who was surpassed, and has now chosen to be bitter rather than harmonious.

How many times must Europe disrespect the United States, refuse to help, and continue cashing foreign aid checks before America wakes up and cuts them off completely?

Various European leaders, and even certain citizens, look down on our way of life, yet they benefit from our hard-earned money in the form of taxpayer funding. They also received various freebies through the United Nations.

Guess who gives the most money to the United Nations? That's right. The United States.

Trump knows all of this. That's why he's been pushing tariffs and restructuring trade deals.

If Europe insists on maintaining this adversarial attitude toward American interests, let's see how far they get without our checkbook, and how long they last without our military might to protect them.

To quote Winston Churchill's famous 1940 speech as Nazi Germany began advancing on the United Kingdom: "And even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old."

My oh my, how times have changed.

Well, the Desert Storm veteran Navy fighter pilot is apparently accusing himself of being a war criminal, because the massive air campaign conducted during that war involved targeting Iraqi infrastructure, including bridges and power plants.

In fact, the history of modern aerial warfare, dating back to World War II, has meant targeting the enemy's ability to function, produce war materials, and transport them to the battlefield.

On Monday, Kelly responded to a Truth Social post by Trump in which the president announced, "Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up into one."

Keep in mind, Trump is always looking for leverage in negotiations with Iran and has stated multiple times that it would be his preference not to hit the country in this way.

Nonetheless, Kelly felt compelled to assert, "Threatening to target power plants and other non-military targets is not strength. If those words become orders to destroy civilian infrastructure with no valid military purpose, it’s hard to see how they would not violate the laws of armed conflict."

"Illegal orders to make civilians suffer would be a black mark on our military and our country," he added.

As a reminder to Kelly, according to an official Air Force historical account of Desert Storm, the air campaign -- which the Navy also participated in -- was the largest since World War II, and it targeted infrastructure.

The Washington Institute chronicled, "Wary of underestimating Iraq, Desert Storm planners inflicted massive damage on the country's economic infrastructure. For example, instead of targeting rapidly replaceable electricity transformer yards and refined oil storage sites, U.S. forces destroyed hard-to-replace generator halls and cracking (distillation) towers."

Former Navy fighter pilot and Top Gun instructor Matthew "Whiz" Buckley reminded Kelly of his involvement in this undertaking during a Tuesday interview on Fox News.

"The people frothing at the mouth today, clutching their pearls about alleged war crimes, if the president decides to target infrastructure, and I'm going to target a fellow Navy aviator -- the guy's just making my skin crawl right now -- is Captain Mark Kelly," Buckley said.

"Captain Kelly flew A-6s in Desert Storm. I'm sure all of you on the panel remember 'shock and awe.' In the first 24 to 48 to 72 hours of Desert Storm, all we targeted was infrastructure: power plants, TVs, bridges, roads," he continued.

CONTEXT: Retired fighter pilot Wiz Buckley points out that Mark Kelly targeted civilian infrastructure as a pilot.

He targeted power plants, TV stations, and roads in the opening hours of that war, while up until now, President Trump has avoided hitting civilian infrastructure… pic.twitter.com/vQIT1O9xOA

— Andrew Kolvet (@AndrewKolvet) April 7, 2026

"The first thing you do in any air campaign is to target the infrastructure," Buckley expounded. "So the president is actually doing this in reverse. He has avoided targeting infrastructure. Why? Because he wanted to leave a lot of this stuff intact for the great Iranian people."

The Navy veteran concluded, "Allegedly, Mark Kelly is admitting to committing war crimes when he flew A-6s in Desert Storm, because we obliterated their infrastructure. Now he's out there saying that if the president does this, it's a war crime. If it wasn't for their double standards, they'd have no standard at all."

Recall Kelly was also a member of the so-called Seditious Six, who participated in a video last fall instructing military personnel that they could disobey Trump's orders if they deemed them illegal.

Perhaps Kelly is trying to raise his profile and bona fides among the radical left base of his party for a 2028 presidential run, but his almost nonstop over-the-top commentary against Trump continues to reduce his credibility among the people of Arizona and the American public overall.

In a letter addressed to Gates back on March 3, Republican Chairman James Comer of Kentucky wrote that the Justice Department's release of Epstein-related documents prompted renewed interest in the Microsoft co-founder.

Comer laid out what the committee was investigating, then quickly pivoted to Gates, requesting his presence in Washington, D.C.

Comer wrote that the committee's main focus is on potential "mismanagement of the federal government’s investigation into Mr. Jeffrey Epstein and Ms. Ghislaine Maxwell," along with the circumstances surrounding Epstein's death, sex trafficking rings, and whether or not these two individuals used powerful contacts to shield themselves from legal consequences.

"Due to public reporting, documents released by the Department of Justice, and documents obtained by the Committee, the Committee believes you have information that will assist in its investigation," the Republican lawmaker stated. "Accordingly, we request your testimony at an in-person transcribed interview on May 19, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. ET in Washington, D.C."

He added, "The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the principal oversight committee of the U.S. House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate 'any matter' at 'any time' under House Rule X.1 To schedule your appearance for the interview or ask related questions, please contact Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Majority staff."

CBS News confirmed that Gates will appear before the Oversight Committee for questioning on June 10, citing a "source familiar with the plans."

A representative for Gates added that he "welcomes the opportunity to appear before the Committee."

"While he never witnessed or participated in any of Epstein's illegal conduct, he is looking forward to answering all the committee's questions to support their important work," the representative said.

Gates, one of the world's wealthiest people with a net worth of over $100 billion, apologized back in February to Gates Foundation staff for his ties to Epstein.

“In retrospect, that was a dead end, and I’ve said many times, but I’ll say again, I was foolish to spend time with him," he said. "I was one of many people who regret ever knowing him."

He claimed their relationship lasted from 2011 until 2014.

Gates, who has denied any wrongdoing, was cited in a 2013 document that appeared to be an email written by Epstein, which he sent to himself.

Epstein was “dismayed beyond comprehension” that Gates would “disregard our friendship developed over the last 6 years.”

He also sent an email to himself claiming Gates had affairs with "Russian girls" that resulted in a sexually transmitted disease, requiring Gates' now-ex wife, Melinda, to be given antibiotics.

“TO add insult to the injury you them (sic) implore me to please delete the emails regarding your std, your request that I provide you antibiotics that you can surreptitiously give to Melinda and the description of your penis,” one email read.

A representative for Gates told CBS News back in January that the "claims are absolutely absurd and completely false."

The Wall Street Journal reported that during Gates' apology for his ties to Epstein, he said that he "did have affairs, one with a Russian bridge player who met me at bridge events, and one with a Russian nuclear physicist who I met through business activities."

Gates isn't the first powerful figure to be hauled before Congress over connections to Epstein.

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were brought in for taped interviews back in March.

At one point during Hillary's testimony, she lost her composure and stormed out. Bill, on the other hand, was criticized for having a fond look on his face while viewing photos in which he was pictured with Epstein. He even smiled and laughed at one point.

While congressional Democrats have tried to tie President Donald Trump to Epstein's sex trafficking rings, their campaign lost steam after The New York Times admitted there was no evidence the commander-in-chief was ever involved.

"An examination of their history by The New York Times has found no evidence implicating Mr. Trump in Mr. Epstein’s abuse and trafficking of minors," the article read.

In fact, Trump was one of the first people to contact the authorities about Epstein's illegal activity.

He told the Palm Beach Police Department that he had thrown Epstein out of his Mar-a-Lago club and expressed relief that law enforcement was finally going to intervene.

The illegal was identified as Carlos Ivan Mendoza, an alleged gang member wanted for questioning in connection with a murder in California, as well as a murder in his native El Salvador, according to KTVU-TV in Oakland.

His condition was unclear on Tuesday. There were no reports of injuries among ICE agents.

Fox News' Bill Melugin posted a statement from acting ICE Director Todd Lyons about the incident:

UPDATE: Statement to @FoxNews via Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, confirming the above:

“On April 7, 2026, ICE officers were conducting a targeted vehicle stop in Patterson, CA to arrest Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, an 18th Street Gang member wanted in El Salvador for…

— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) April 7, 2026

In the statement, Lyons laid responsibility for the violence squarely on the illegal alien.

Calling Mendoza a member of the 18th Street Gang in Patterson, Lyons said ICE agents were engaged in a "targeted vehicle stop."

"As officers approached the car, the wanted gang member weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run an officer over. Following their training, our officers fired defensive shots to protect themselves, their fellow agents, and the public.

"The illegal alien was taken to a local hospital. The FBI is on the scene," the statement said.

Many details about the incident were unclear Tuesday.

However, according to KTVU, the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office posted an alert on Facebook at about 8:30 a.m. Pacific Time.

The statement noted that on ramps and off ramps to Interstate 5 in Patterson were closed because of the shooting.

In a follow-up statement, the sheriff's office stressed that none of its personnel were involved in the shooting itself.

According to NBC News, the FBI's field office in Sacramento confirmed that it is investigating the incident.

"We are conducting a thorough investigation in partnership with the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office and are grateful for the Patterson community’s continued patience and support," the statement said.

Details about the killings Mendoza is believed to have information about were unavailable Tuesday.

"Approaching the near side of the Moon," the post began. "The Artemis II astronauts have surpassed the record for the distance from Earth at 1:56 ET (1756 UTC). This record was previously set during the Apollo 13 mission when the astronauts traveled 248,655 miles from Earth."

"The Moon continues to grow larger and larger in the windows of the Orion spacecraft as the Artemis II mission gears up to observe the far side," the post continued. "The astronauts are predicted to make their closest approach of the Moon around 7:02pm ET (2302 UTC)."

Approaching the near side of the Moon.

The Artemis II astronauts have surpassed the record for the distance from Earth at 1:56 ET (1756 UTC). This record was previously set during the Apollo 13 mission when the astronauts traveled 248,655 miles from Earth. The Moon continues to… pic.twitter.com/OapAGgGMex

— NASA Artemis (@NASAArtemis) April 6, 2026

Michael Kratsios, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, shared images of the "far side of the moon, captured from Orion as Earth dips beyond the lunar horizon."

Incredible images from @NASAArtemis 🇺🇸

The far side of the Moon, captured from Orion as Earth dips beyond the lunar horizon.

The Moon eclipses the Sun, revealing a view few in human history have ever witnessed. pic.twitter.com/ml6ufEhH9W

— Director Michael Kratsios (@mkratsios47) April 7, 2026

The White House shared a video on X of President Donald Trump speaking with the astronauts, writing, "LIVE FROM SPACE: President Donald J. Trump Calls Artemis II Astronauts After Breaking the Farthest Distance Record in Human Spaceflight HISTORIC! 'Your mission paves the way for America's return to the lunar surface very soon.'"

During the call, the commander in chief said the astronauts were making America "proud," and inspiring "the entire world."

He also wanted to "personally salute" each member of the mission, along with all of NASA, for their "special" accomplishment.

"America is back," the president declared. "America is a frontier nation. And the four brave astronauts of Artemis II are modern-day pioneers, all of you."

Trump added that they are helping pave the way for "America's return to the lunar surface very soon. We're going all out ... We'll plant our flag once again, and this time, we won't just leave footprints. We'll establish a permanent presence on the moon, and we'll push on to Mars."

🚀 LIVE FROM SPACE: President Donald J. Trump Calls Artemis II Astronauts After Breaking the Farthest Distance Record in Human Spaceflight 🇺🇸 HISTORIC!

"Your mission paves the way for America's return to the lunar surface very soon." pic.twitter.com/1TzmIEQG0l

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 7, 2026

Elon Musk also joined in, posting a video of "NASA Artemis passing close to the Moon."

NASA Artemis passing close to the Moon pic.twitter.com/jLvGoW1IR9

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 7, 2026

"NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen lifted off at 6:35 p.m. EDT on April 1 from launch pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida," the official NASA website reads.

"NASA’s Artemis II mission is an approximately 10-day journey around the Moon including launch, a lunar flyby, and a safe splashdown off the coast of San Diego," the article continued.

"[The] Crew is expected to travel a total of 695,081 miles from launch to splashdown. The spacecraft will pass within 4,070 miles of the lunar surface during its closest approach and will reach a maximum distance of 252,760 miles from Earth, about 4,105 miles farther than Apollo 13."

What Fox News called an unnamed senior U.S. official said there was hope the talks would secure an agreement.

“We are absolutely in touch with [Iran]. Absolutely. [The talks] have been positive. If we get lucky, we will have something by the end of the day," the official said.

Trump’s deadline for a deal was set for 8 p.m. Eastern Time.

“I hope they make the right response, because what we really want is ... a world where oil and gas [are] flowing freely, where people can afford to heat their homes and cool their homes, where people can afford to transport themselves to work,” Vice President J.D. Vance said in a video posted to X.

“That’s not gonna happen if the Iranians are engaged in acts of economic terrorism. And so they’ve got to know that we've got tools in our tool kit that we, so far, haven't decided to use. The president of the United States can decide to use them and will decide to use them if the Iranians don’t change their course of conduct,” he said.

JD Vance:

We feel confident that we can get a response from the Iranians by 8 o’clock tonight.

I hope they make the right response. pic.twitter.com/bMRTjVctlx

— Clash Report (@clashreport) April 7, 2026

During an appearance in Hungary, Vance said Iran has to make a choice, according to Fox News.

"There are two pathways that this thing is ultimately going to end. First of all, the United States has largely accomplished its military objectives," Vance said.

"There are still some things that we'd like to do, for example, on Iranian ability to manufacture weapons, that we'd like to do a little bit more work on militarily. But fundamentally, the military objectives of the United States have been completed.

"I think there really are two pathways, and I'm oversimplifying this a little bit, but I think pathway one is where the Iranians decide they're going to be a normal country. They're not going to fund terrorism anymore. They're going to be part of the world system of commerce and exchange," Vance said.

"And that's going to mean much better things for them economically. It's going to mean better things for the peace and safety of the world. It's going to mean a lot of good things for a lot of people all over the planet. That's option A,” he said.

"Option B is that the Iranians don't come to the table and they stay committed to terrorism, to terrorizing their neighbors, not just Israel but of course their Arab neighbors too. Then the economic situation in Iran is going to continue to be very, very bad. And frankly, it will probably get worse," he said.

"The president also has been very clear that while the Iranians are trying to exact as much economic cost through the Strait of Hormuz, the United States has the ability to extract much greater economic costs on Iran than Iran has an ability to extract costs on us or on our friends in the world," Vance said. "

Speaking 12 hours before the deadline, Vance said, “There's going to be a lot of negotiation between now and then, and I'm hopeful that it gets to a good resolution."

In a report filed around noon Tuesday, Bret Baier of Fox News said Trump is not preparing to stand down

"I just got off the phone with the president and he called and I said, listen, if you were to put odds on it, what were the odds that this is going to end up being a negotiated deal? He said he wasn't going to put odds on it. But he said, 8 p.m. Is happening. That's what he said," Baier said.

"He said, it is, if we get to that point, there is going to be an attack like they have not seen. Now he's sticking to that at this point. Now he said if negotiations move forward today and there is something concrete, that could change. But at this hour, he didn't want to put odds on it. But he said it is moving forward with the plans that we have. That's a huge deal," he said.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that “if the American terrorist army crosses the red lines, our response will go beyond the region,” according to the Times of Israel.

It said it will target infrastructure “to deprive the United States and its allies of oil and gas in the region for years.”

“America’s regional partners should also know that until today, we have exercised great restraint for the sake of good neighborliness and have had some reservations in choosing targets for retaliation, but all these reservations have since been removed,” it said.

Then, when we find those policies, we may only hope that ruling Republicans will find a way to crush them.

For instance, on the social media platform X Monday, Harmeet Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the Department of Justice, pledged to look into a "Racial Equity Plan" announced Monday by Democratic Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York City.

"Sounds fishy/illegal," Dhillon wrote. "Will review!"

The assistant attorney general also shared a clip of Mamdani justifying the discriminatory measure.

"And while today's true cost of living measure confirms that the affordability crisis touches every corner of our city," the socialist mayor said, "we know that these effects are not applied evenly. So often it is black and brown New Yorkers who are hit the hardest."

Of course, no state-worshipping socialist ever rests content with a single initiative. Thus, Mamdani promised more -- exponentially more -- of the unjust diversity, equity, and inclusion policies Democrats love.

"This preliminary racial equity plan is the first step in developing a whole-of-government approach to tackling that reality," the mayor added. "It is a plan that lays out these first steps to solve decades of neglect and discrimination. And it places the work of 45 city agencies within a singular framework."

Sounds fishy/illegal. Will review! https://t.co/HDT4FJdGwK

— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) April 6, 2026

According to a news release, Mamdani announced a pair of insidious reports, the Preliminary Citywide Racial Equity Plan and the inaugural NYC True Cost of Living Measure, which "together establish a new framework for how New York City measures affordability, understands inequity, and plans for a more equitable future."

Moreover, the release distilled the entire liberal racial worldview into two nauseating sentences:

"Together, the two reports make clear that New York City’s affordability crisis is deeply tied to its history of racial inequity. Patterns of disinvestment, exclusion from home ownership, unequal access to health care and employment, and concentrated environmental burdens have shaped who has resources, who faces the greatest costs, and who remains most economically insecure today."

In other words, those entrusted with solving the city's "affordability crisis" have diagnosed the problem as one of historical racism. And you may bet your last dollar that they reached that conclusion long before compiling those two reports.

That means, of course, that Mamdani and his merry band of wealth redistributors have developed the most dishonest framework possible. In their minds, racism explains everything.

Thus, Democrats need not concern themselves with complicated factors such as the welfare state's corrosive impact on the black family. Analysis of that very tangible truth certainly will not appear in those two reports. But the legacy of slavery, which ended in New York City in 1827, demands a "whole-of-government approach" to affordability.

Of course, a conservative Christian responds to such nonsense with a simple call for justice. Stop categorizing people by skin color. Start treating them as human beings with individual souls. Then -- and only then -- will you have the proper "framework" for distributing resources.

In the meantime, we must rely on Dhillon and other conservatives in power to fight the injustice of DEI.

The move would crush the tourist economies of sanctuary cities such as New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco by rendering them incapable of processing international travelers.

Mullin floated the idea Monday during an interview with Fox News host Bret Baier.

"I believe sanctuary cities -- it’s not lawful," the DHS boss said. "This one area we may take a hard look at is ... some of these cities have international airports. If they're a sanctuary city, should they really be processing customs into their city?

"If they're a sanctuary city and they're receiving international flights, and we're asking them to partner with us at the airport, but once they walk out of the airport, they're not going to enforce immigration policy -- maybe we need to have a really hard look at that," Mullin continued.

.@SecMullinDHS: "Some of these cities have international airports... If they're a 'sanctuary city' and they're receiving international flights — and we're asking them to partner with us at the airport, but once they walk out of the airport, they're not going to enforce… pic.twitter.com/RCT52ALwQz

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 6, 2026

Baier asked if the DHS secretary was suggesting that international airports in sanctuary cities “might lose their customs.”

Mullin replied that this is an option DHS is seriously considering. He underscored that nothing he plans to do would exceed the agency's congressional authority.

"Well, I'm saying we're going to have to start prioritizing things at some point. Right now, remember, the Democrats are wanting to defund Customs and Border Patrol," he said.

"Well, who processes those individuals when they walk off the plane? So, I'm going to have to be forced to make hard decisions. Who's willing to work with us, and partner with us?"

Mullin added: "I am not going outside the policies that Congress passed for me. And we're not trying to push those, but we're saying that you've got to partner with us."

Sanctuary cities are jurisdictions that incentivize illegal immigration by refusing to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

Major sanctuary cities -- all of which are run by Democrats -- include the following, according to the Justice Department:

• New York
• Los Angeles
• Chicago
• Philadelphia
• San Francisco
• Seattle
• Denver
• Boston
• New Orleans.

Mullin's proposal may sound extreme to some, but so is allowing the United States to devolve into a mass dumping ground for illegal aliens.

Sanctuary policies cost American lives.

And ICE is working day and night, 24/7/365, to ensure that criminal illegal aliens are removed from our country — regardless of whether they reside in a sanctuary county, city or state. pic.twitter.com/Mju6UaJM0S

— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) April 6, 2026

American taxpayers shelled out more than $150 billion on immigrants in the U.S. illegally in 2023 alone, the Department of Government Efficiency estimates.

MORE: https://t.co/OF8eTQBzXb pic.twitter.com/AR9p4dCR87

— NewsNation (@NewsNation) December 5, 2024

As Democrats continue to prioritize illegal aliens over U.S. citizens, Americans must remember that this nation does not exist to serve as a dumping ground for unvetted armies of Third-World migrants.

As the late President Ronald Reagan said, “A nation that cannot control its borders is not a nation.”

No nation -- no matter how wealthy or powerful -- can withstand the catastrophic impact of unfettered illegal immigration, which endangers public safety, drains public resources, and threatens national security.

The Times of Israel reported that the supreme leader is being treated for a “severe” medical issue in the city of Qom and is incapacitated.

The story cited a diplomatic memo based on U.S.-Israeli intelligence stating that Mojtaba is "unable to be involved in any decision-making by the regime."

Tehran’s ambassador to Cyprus, Alireza Salarian, confirmed that Khamenei, 56, was injured during an attack on Feb. 28 that killed six of his family members, including his father, according to The Guardian.

During an interview at his embassy compound in Nicosia, Salarian said Khamenei was lucky to be alive following the devastating joint strike carried out by U.S. and Israeli forces.

Mojtaba is the son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who served as Iran's supreme leader from 1989 until his death in February.

Following his father's death, Mojtaba was appointed the new supreme leader, despite his reported injuries.

"He was also there, and he was injured in that bombardment, but I haven’t seen that reflected in the foreign news," Salarian told the Guardian. "I have heard that he was injured in his legs, hand, and arm … I think he is in the hospital because he is injured."

He added, “I don’t think he is comfortable [in any condition] to give a speech."

Salarian also claimed the late ayatollah did not want his son to succeed him.

This news comes just two days after President Donald Trump issued an ultimatum to Iran on Easter Sunday, giving it just 48 hours to open the Strait of Hormuz or face dire consequences.

The recent chaos inside the vital waterway has affected shipping, sending oil and gas prices soaring.

"Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran," the commander in chief wrote on Truth Social. "There will be nothing like it!!!"

He continued to ramp up the rhetoric on Monday, saying, "The entire country can be taken out in one night -- and that night might be tomorrow night."

On Tuesday, the president's threats grew stronger still, with Trump posting another message to Truth Social.

"A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again," he declared. "I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will."

Trump added, "However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?"

𝐃𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐝 𝐉. 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐩 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝟎𝟖:𝟎𝟔 𝐀𝐌 𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝟎𝟒.𝟎𝟕.𝟐𝟔

A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change,…

— Commentary Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) April 7, 2026

"We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World," the president concluded. "47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!"

Cities such as Los Angeles and New York City, both with major international airports, have sanctuary policies to protect illegal immigrants.

"If they're a sanctuary city, should they really be processing customs into their city?" Mullin said in an interview with Fox News.

Mullin said local officials in sanctuary jurisdictions cannot serve two masters.

"If they're a sanctuary city and they're receiving international flights, and we're asking them to partner with us at the airport, but once they walk out of the airport, they're not going to enforce immigration policy -- maybe we need to have a really hard look at that,” he said.

"I'm going to have to be forced to make hard decisions," Mullin added, noting that he wants local governments to be good partners, but cannot bend the rules to accommodate leftist policies.

"I am not going outside the policies that Congress passed for me, and we're not trying to push those, but we're saying you've got to partner with us,” he said.

"I believe sanctuary cities, it’s not lawful," Mullin continued. "I don't think they're able to do that. And so, we're going to take a hard look at this."

Mullin said he will not make a snap decision, but will seriously consider difficult courses of action, according to The Hill.

“Well, I’m saying we’re going to have to start prioritizing things at some point. Right now, remember, the Democrats are wanting to defund Customs and Border Patrol. Well, who processes those individuals when they walk off the plane? And so I’m going to have to be forced to make hard decisions. Who is willing to work with us and partner with us?” Mullin said.

Mullin’s comment drew the support of Rep. Warren Davidson, a Republican from Ohio.

Sanctuary cities are in open rebellion to federal authority to determine the lawful presence of foreign nationals. They obstruct our legal obligation to remove those unlawfully in the United States.

Removing every bit of DHS support from sanctuary cities makes sense. https://t.co/59rlFtXyDF

— Warren Davidson 🇺🇸 (@WarrenDavidson) April 6, 2026

"Sanctuary cities are in open rebellion to federal authority to determine the lawful presence of foreign nationals. They obstruct our legal obligation to remove those unlawfully in the United States. Removing every bit of DHS support from sanctuary cities makes sense,” he posted on X.

Mullin said he agrees with a plan that would lock in DHS funding for three years, Fox News reported.

“There is a problem with what the Senate has proposed. And it’s a fundamental issue that is very difficult for some Republicans to get past. It’s that the bill that has been proposed out of the Senate that was passed with unanimous consent, it essentially, and I say essentially, defunded ICE and Customs and Border Patrol. But the reason why we made that play call is because we want to do it through reconciliation,” Mullin told anchor Bret Baier.

“The reason why the president and I have spoke literally for over five hours in the Oval Office about the best path to do this with is because September 30th is when the fiscal year ends again. We are afraid that the Democrats will try to hold the country hostage again and shut us down,” he said.

“And so if we can take Customs and Border Patrol off the table and put it through reconciliation, fund it for three years, then we don’t have to worry about the Democrats playing this political theater,” he added.

Reconciliation is a Senate mechanism that allows changes to the federal budget through only a majority vote, instead of the 60-vote margin needed to adopt the budget in the first place.

Customs and Border Protection has agents at 300 ports of entry across the country, which includes international airports, according to the New York Post.

If that sounds pathetic, it is. But don't tell that to what's arguably the U.K.'s most prestigious paper, the Times of London. No, the headline "The man who watches Trump all day, every day" doesn't sound glamorous, but darned if they don't try their hardest to make it come across like that.

From Monday's piece, which makes his job sound like firefighting or being a combat pilot:

The psychological demands of Aaron Rupar’s work are immense. He counts himself lucky to have remained more or less healthy after a decade in his job.

“I certainly wouldn’t say that I’m like a model of mental health,” says the father-of-two from Minnesota. “But for the most part, especially considering what I do and how much time I spend doing it, I think I’ve been able to emerge relatively unscathed.”

Rupar works from his spare room in his Minneapolis house. His job is to watch President Trump. All day, every day.

Spread over two laptop screens, Rupar, 42, follows the frenetic schedule of the president, from the meandering speeches to the impromptu press conferences, the middle-of-the-night social media rants to the sudden interviews on TV.

Let me translate that for you: Since 2017, Rupar has basically been sharing short clips of Trump out of a wider context which make him look bad and using them to gain massive followings on X, Bluesky, and Substack.

No shame in that game, of course, said as a man who sits behind a laptop for a greatly more modest living himself, but please don't talk to me about the "immense ... psychological demands" of a job that can be done in gym shorts and a T-shirt at a desk at home.

But, no, the Times says, "Rupar is a one-man news agency" who does the invaluable service of cataloguing " Trump’s noteworthy remarks and shar[ing] them instantly on social media." This, by the way, is what Trump's own people do themselves, or what you can do if you're really interested by turning on the TV.

Don't tell that to Rupar, who will tout his self-induced karoshi to anyone who will listen -- in this case, George Grylls, who writes for the Times of London about the grueling service this clip-farm machine is doing.

“I’ve certainly had some days over the years that have been 18-20 hours of pretty much nonstop work,” Rupar says.

“I remember he gave some sort of speech to the Korean legislature that started at my time, like four in the morning, that I woke up for. I’d been working till midnight the night previous. So that’s not super uncommon.”

The results speak for themselves:

Trump's discolored, swollen hand as photographed Monday

(Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty) pic.twitter.com/MqGk0TpHUV

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 7, 2026

Trump: "Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. They are lunatics, and you can't put nuclear weapons in the hands of a lunatic." pic.twitter.com/WSyyg2h3sh

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 6, 2026

Trump: "They came in so fast and so hard. 'Let's go -- bwaaaa!' They came one right after another. Not as the same time. They don't want to come at the same time. They had to come right after each other. There was barely any room to land. A tiny little patch of very wet earth." pic.twitter.com/CLcuuRwsl8

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 6, 2026

Discolored hands! A tiny patch of wet earth! An ironic implication that Trump is actually a lunatic with nukes compared with the totally sane mullahs in Iran! What would we do without this guy? I mean, except something worthwhile.

The service he renders, the Times implies, is that while Trump speaks a lot, people don't pick out the important stuff -- at least to Rupar, whose pull-quotes the Times basically gave uncritical deference to.

“It’s really difficult to cover him in a way that conveys how unhinged he is,” Rupar said.

“That’s kind of how people are trained to do political journalism. It’s like, ‘OK, what did he say that was newsworthy, what’s new?’ So you kind of pick up those things and convey them to your audience. But in reality, when you actually watch his rallies, you see that they’re full of hatred, he’s lying constantly, and a lot of it is incoherent.”

“It’s true that he talks to the press a lot,” he added. “But he doesn’t really convey meaningful information.”

So why bother covering it, then? Good question. One is money; Rupar has over a million followers on X, almost a million on Bluesky, and a quarter of a million Substack subscribers who pay him $50 a year.

But he pays a heavy toll for all this, he'd like you to know.

“I think certainly covering this stuff over the last decade has probably negatively affected my mental health just because it’s pretty bleak most of the time,” Rupar said. “But I still get up and feel privileged in some ways to be able to cover historic events for a living. And to have the audience that I have.”

Some heroes hold a post. Others just post as they hold on and wait for their DoorDash order. Both deserve glowing gratitude in the press, apparently -- and in most publications, the latter more than the former.

As the California gubernatorial candidate is trying to stop the FBI from releasing the files from his, ahem, dalliance with a Chinese spy, an activist and attorney with a progressive group announced on social media that she was "working with a number of women who are in the process" of officially coming forward with stories of sexual harassment against the Democratic congressman.

Cheyenne Hunt with Gen-Z For Change said in the Monday post that the number of women willing to share their stories was "pretty shocking," although concrete details were not available.

The announcement, however, comes as the Democratic establishment is reportedly pressuring other candidates to drop out of California's jungle primary to clear a path for Swalwell to avoid a historic Democratic lockout in which two Republicans vie for the governor's mansion in California come November.

Hunt claimed in a thread on X that these women "even alleged abuse" against Swalwell.

"I got involved because the first victim who approached me is a close friend, but when I saw that there were others who’s experiences fit the same pattern of manipulation and abuse of power, I knew I couldn’t stay silent," Hunt said.

"Targeting employees, interns, and fans. Acting as a mentor just to exploit that power. DMs and Snapchat messages. Allegations ranging from uncomfortable comments to potentially criminal conduct," she continued. "Other women needed to know that they were not alone and that someone had their backs if they came forward. After I spoke about my friend’s experience, many brave women came forward and shared their stories with me."

I got involved because the first victim who approached me is a close friend, but when I saw that there were others who’s experiences fit the same pattern of manipulation and abuse of power, I knew I couldn’t stay silent.

— Cheyenne Hunt (@CheyenneHuntCA) April 6, 2026

Targeting employees, interns, and fans. Acting as a mentor just to exploit that power. DMs and Snapchat messages. Allegations ranging from uncomfortable comments to potentially criminal conduct

— Cheyenne Hunt (@CheyenneHuntCA) April 6, 2026

Hunt said her group had "secured pro bono legal representation for them and they are in the process of sharing information with reporters," although she warned those looking for immediate headline that the "process takes time."

"The number of credible women who have come forward since I posted my video is pretty shocking and connecting them with the investigative reporting teams who have been working on breaking this for years has greatly expedited this process. I am confident this story will break soon," she continued, adding that while she understood "people want as much information as possible regarding these women," there were hurdles to clear.

"The problem is, most of these women stayed silent because they believe that they are alone in their experience & that coming forward could ruin their careers," she wrote. "It appears that others may have stayed quiet due to a belief that non-disclosure agreements required them to keep this secret. While it is true that most NDAs would be unenforceable under these circumstances, most people don’t know that until they speak to a lawyer."

It appears that others may have stayed quiet due to a belief that non-disclosure agreements required them to keep this secret. While it is true that most NDAs would be unenforceable under these circumstances, most people don’t know that until they speak to a lawyer.

— Cheyenne Hunt (@CheyenneHuntCA) April 6, 2026

Hunt, it's worth noting, is herself an attorney -- and thus could face significant professional consequences should the allegations be a ruse.

The news comes at the worst possible time for Swalwell: While he seems to be the most credible candidate to break out from the field in California's jungle primary, he also faces the most questions about his past.

Swalwell, previously known for his work targeting President Donald Trump over the Russiagate hoax and pushing gun-control legislation, briefly ran for president in 2020 without much success distinguishing himself from the rest of the Democratic cattle-car field.

In December of 2020, after the race had concluded, Axios broke the story that "[a] suspected Chinese intelligence operative" named Fang Fang, or Christine Fang, had "developed extensive ties with local and national politicians" and those ties included, ahem, intimate relations at times.

The lede, somewhat buried, was that Swalwell was the biggest name among them, and Fang had both helped fundraise for him and placed an intern in his office. In 2015, the federal government briefed Swalwell on Fang's activities and Swalwell reportedly cut ties with her.

However, in the interim, he has refused to say what his relationship with Fang entailed (particularly whether it was sexual in nature) and what he may have passed onto her -- and as NBC News reported last week, Swalwell sent a cease and desist letter to the FBI from declassifying just what it knows about his connections to Fang.

Other random information that Swalwell is a creep emerged from a conservative operative who dug through Swalwell's published writings in college and found a poem that wasn't just sexually explicit but also had questionable overtones regarding consensual relations.

This is far more minor, however, and from a conservative source. Numerous women willing to come forward to allege Swalwell of predatory behavior more recently would be a huge speed bump for his campaign -- and another huge headache for the Democrats in California.

As Politico noted in an article last week, California Democrats are beginning to panic over the state of the state's gubernatorial primary. While the left generally runs the roost in the Golden State, there is some consternation over Gov. Gavin Newsom's management of crime, infrastructure, and budget matters.

Two Republican challengers have been polling extremely well in the race, and are dividing the vote in part because they come from different wings of the party. Riverside County, California Sheriff Chad Bianco represents the law-and-order establishment part of the GOP, while Fox News host and businessman Steve Hilton the more heterodox, populist side of it.

In a traditional primary system, this wouldn't really matter. However, under California's jungle primary system, everyone runs at once regardless of party affiliation, and the top two candidates advance. A motley crew of Democrats entered in anticipation of perhaps breaking out if former Vice President Kamala Harris decided not to run -- which, to the surprise of many, she did decide against.

After that, former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter became the de facto Democratic frontrunner -- until allegations of verbal and physical abuse against staff and family members, including throwing a boiling pot of potatoes at her now ex-husband, halted her ascension.

Swalwell's entry into the race was supposed to make him the establishment favorite, and he quickly got the endorsement of fellow Russiagate hoaxer Sen. Adam Schiff. However, he also hasn't been able to break away from the pack in polling; Porter, Swalwell, and billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer are all polling between 10-15 percent in most polls, with a number of other figures of some stature polling in the single digits.

While the party has been quietly pressuring some of them to leave the race, part of the problem is optics: The single-digit Democrats with some experience tend to be minorities, including former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. They also have no reason to get out, considering the large percentage of undecided voters.

This means that Hilton and Bianco are both still Nos. 1 and 2 in the polls. And if that holds, that would be a cataclysm for a party that's mostly controlled California since the turn of the century.

Now, of course, Hunt's allegations fall under the aegis of "big if true." However, it would fit with Swalwell's biggest problem: Fang Fang wasn't an extramarital dalliance or anything, but it did show the man to have extraordinarily poor judgment in matters where sexual continence is a must for an elected official, and a series of women accusing him of various forms of creepy (and perhaps criminal) behavior would amplify that.

You could argue that this is from a representative of a progressive group -- but in the end, it's not a conservative smear job, and that still doesn't take away the problems that Porter (an abusive, far-left harpy) or Steyer (a pie-in-the-sky billionaire with no actual governmental experience looking to speedrun the final level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs) have, meaning the Democrats still have no breakout candidate and a huge Hilton-Bianco problem.

In other words, this has a better-than-average chance of being legitimately damaging stuff as opposed just an opposition smear-job dressed up in newsworthy clothing. Stay tuned, because it turns out the real War on Women™ may have been coming from Eric Swalwell's own office -- and we're supposed to Believe All Women™ too, right?

Democrat state congressional candidate: Yes! Also, take away the internet access of his supporters for four years so they can't say anything.

Democrats: Don't see any contradiction there!

That, at least, is the tacit message being sent by the national party and one of their more prominent state legislature candidates, Suzanna Karatassos. She's running to be the party's nominee in House District 120 -- typically a Republican seat, but you never know in a midterm year with an important Democratic U.S. Senate seat to hold onto.

Karatassos describes herself as "a wife and mother in Georgia" who wants "to see Georgia thrive and for all our citizens to be able to lead a life of prosperity with dignity." And that requires the right to political expression, which she says is being stifled.

"The foundation of our democracy is the right to vote, and every Georgian deserves to have their voice heard and their vote counted," her campaign website reads.

"Yet, year after year, barriers have been put in place by Republicans who want to make it harder for citizens to participate in our elections, from restrictive voting laws to gerrymandered district maps that silence communities."

Now, how serious she is about the candidacy remains up for debate, as her social media profile is limited for someone trying to flip a seat. But how serious she is about the "foundation of our democracy" and how America "deserves to have their voice heard" is clearly bovine effluence -- as evinced by a clip going viral in which she discusses how she'd deal with "the punishment for MAGA for voting Trump."

Her solution: Take away their internet for four years so that the Democrats can "rebuild."

She thinks MAGA should be punished after Trump is gone!

Suzanna is running for state house in Georgia. If she wins, she wants to punish her constituents who voted for Trump.

Does this sound fascist to anyone else? pic.twitter.com/7iNv5ZtxZn

— Clerpatriot (@clerpatriot) February 1, 2026

"When this is all over and Trump is gone and Democrats are back in charge, and we're rebuilding everything, the punishment for MAGA for voting Trump three times needs to be that they lose their internet access for four years," she said in a video which originated on Instagram earlier this year but is going viral at the moment.

"They cannot post videos or comments on social media for four straight years so that none of us are subjected to their lies, the misinformation, while we are rebuilding the chaos [sic] that they caused, the whole world, and America, gets to be without their BS online for four straight years," she says with a smile.

"Can we all agree to this?"

AI-generated founding fathers, can we all agree to this?

The founding fathers have spoken.

I'm not sure why this is funny: whether it's because someone so truly evil cannot be so dumb, or because someone so dumb cannot be so truly evil. What is clear is that this woman is a small but cancerous growth on the American body politic, running for official office, and the Democratic Party seems to want to do nothing to address this.

At the very least, it would behoove a party that needs to come across as sane and centrist to make serious hay while the midterm sun shines to come out and denounce this woman. If she's going to generate clickbait, shame her while you can. She loses, you win. It's not a difficult equation.

Here's the scarier thing, though: Democrats are comfortable with this. Oh, of course they don't think it can happen, that whole pesky First Amendment and all. But a party can dream.

That, at least, seems to be the message. And while they aren't dumb enough to believe they can carry it out to the letter, they are evil enough to believe its spirit can be integrated, somehow, in the modern progressive movement. Somehow, some way, MAGA must be excommunicated from polite (and all) political company, to them.

A Georgian dullard with minimal chances at higher office might not have the answer, but darned if they won't try to find something like it. This is how much they hate us, make no mistake. She just let the mask slip a little more than the average Democrat will.

That illegal alien failed, and it looks like the same will happen to Dugan. More's the pity.

Dugan, you may recall, was the judge who helped an illegal in her Milwaukee County court who was about to be taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in April of 2025 attempt to escape.

She was convicted in December of felony obstruction for her actions. She appealed the decision, according to Wisconsin Public Radio, with her attorneys motioning that she should be acquitted or at least granted a new trial.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman -- who, by the way, is quite progressive with a history of what can best be described as extrajudicial activism -- denied both of those requests.

🚨 BOOM: Court just REJECTED disgraced leftist Judge Hannah Dugan’s appeal, her felony conviction for helping an illegal alien dodge DHS agents and skip deportation is OFFICIALLY UPHELD.

PUT HER IN PRISON! pic.twitter.com/P56L4Czj0L

— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) April 6, 2026

In his decision, the Clinton-appointed Adelman wrote that Dugan's attorneys were simply providing a "rehash" of positions that had already been rejected by the court -- namely, that his instructions to the jury were flawed, that she did not have an immunity defense, and that an argument by her defense team that she had immunity was put forth too late to be considered in an appeal, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

"As I noted in denying the motion to dismiss, there was no basis for granting immunity simply because the indictment described conduct that could be considered 'part of a judge’s job,'" Adelman wrote in his decision.

"As the government notes, the operating assumption of those involved in creating a policy was that civil ICE arrests in public areas of the courthouse were lawful and the judiciary did not have the ability to stop them."

However, Adelman took the unusual step of not setting a sentencing date in anticipation of (sigh) yet another appeal.

Dugan's conviction in December and her resignation in early January marked the end of a sordid saga that began with Eduardo Flores-Ruiz appearing in her court on April 18, 2025 to answer for battery charges -- the latest in a laundry list of criminal offenses for the 31-year-old Mexican national who had re-entered the United States following prior removal. He'd also racked up battery, strangulation, and suffocation charges in the past.

Despite the fact that the battery case in question dealt with him punching a man 30 times, allegedly, Judge Dugan was apparently furious when ICE showed up to take him into custody.

She led him into a restricted area of the courthouse with his attorney and then escorted him out through a side-entrance to make his escape.

NEW: Milwaukee County releases footage showing Judge Hannah Dugan apparently sneaking an illegal immigrant out of the building by deceiving ICE agents.

The footage shows Eduardo Flores-Ruiz being snuck out of the courtroom before he got in a foot race with agents.

Dugan was… pic.twitter.com/QFjEuTtRa1

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 23, 2025

A chase ensued, Flores-Ruiz was apprehended (and subsequently removed from the country) and Dugan was both removed from the court and charged with felony obstruction and misdemeanor concealing an individual to prevent his arrest or discovery.

She was convicted on the former, more serious charge, but acquitted of the latter -- in part, her attorneys argued, because of judge Adelman's instructions.

Adelman told the jury that Dugan did not have to know the identity of the individual ICE was seeking inside the courthouse to convict on the felony obstruction charge, but she did on the misdemeanor concealment charge.

In truth, given the fact that Adelman's history made him the most sympathetic judge possible to hear this case, she's probably lucky she only got away with the single conviction. And yes, she has appeals left, but eventually this probably comes to someone with some sense, who's not going to grant her a new trial over a "rehash" of minor jury instruction differences and a belated argument of immunity.

Do the crime, do the time, Judge Dugan. That applied to Flores-Ruiz, and let's hope that applies to you -- up to five years in prison, if the harshest sentence is handed down.

On Sunday,  Trump warned on Truth Social: “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day,” as he urged Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz and make a deal to end its war with America. He posted that 8 p.m. Eastern Time would be zero hour.

The rhetoric grew even stronger Monday.

"The entire country can be taken out in one night – and that night might be tomorrow night," he said then, according to the BBC.

On Tuesday, the threats ascended even further.

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” Trump posted Tuesday on Truth Social. “I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will."

“However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?

“We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!”

During a Monday news conference, Trump offered a timetable for the destruction.

“We have -- we have a plan because of the power of our military, where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12:00 tomorrow night, where every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding, and never to be used again,” he said, according to Roll Call.

“I mean, complete demolition by 12:00 and it will happen over a period of four hours if we wanted to. We don't want that to happen.

“We may even get involved with helping them rebuild their nation. And you know what? If that's the case, the last thing we want to do is start with power plants, which are among the most expensive things, and bridges."

Trump then referenced a massive bridge the U.S. destroyed last week, saying Iran backed away from a deal just before the attack.

He said he told his negotiating team, “them that's OK, don't worry about it but tell them to look out their window and watch and within 45 minutes, I gave the order to knock out the biggest bridge.”

“I gave the order to knock out the biggest bridge in, I believe, the Middle East, but the biggest bridge in Iran and within ten minutes after I gave that order, that bridge was -- was over,” he said.

“So -- so do I want to do that? No. Do I want to destroy their infrastructure? No. It will take them 100 years to rebuild. Right now, if we left today, it would take them 20 years to rebuild their country and it would never be as good as it was and the only way they're going to be able to rebuild their country is to utilize the genius of the United States of America."

Trump’s endorsement may have killed Republicans’ hopes of both Hilton and Republican Chad Bianco leading in the state’s primary, edging out a split Democrat ticket from reaching the run-off, according to Politico. Trump’s endorsement of Hilton, which he made on Truth Social Monday, is likely a death-blow to Bianco’s chances and the party’s hope of an evenly-split ticket.

“I have known and respected Steve Hilton, who is running for Governor of California, for many years,” Trump said.

“He is a truly fine man, one who has watched as this once great State has gone to Hell. Gavin Newscum and the Democrats have done an absolutely horrendous job. People are fleeing, crime is increasing, and Taxes are the highest of any State in the Country, maybe the World. Steve can turn it around, before it is too late, and, as President, I will help him to do so! With Federal help, and a Great Governor, like Steve Hilton, California can be better than ever before!”

Trump’s endorsement also means Democrats may not have to spend heavily on one of the Republican candidates to avoid a Democratic lockout, Politico reported.

“Trump’s endorsement of Steve Hilton likely frees up tens of millions of dollars for Democratic groups who would have otherwise had to spend heavily to elevate one of the two leading GOP gubernatorial candidates to avoid a Democratic lockout,” political data expert Rob Pyers said.

Republicans in California intend to hold a convention this upcoming weekend on whether to endorse in the race, which appeared unlikely until Trump came out with the endorsement of Hilton, according to Politico. Hilton did not appear to want to involve Trump in the governor’s race.

“The media obsession and the California Democrats’ obsession with Trump doesn’t do our state any favors. We have to focus on California issues, and that’s what I’m doing,” Hilton said.

Hilton also said that he did not seek an endorsement from Trump, according to Politico. He announced his bid for governor in April 2025, stressing a need for “balance” and “practical policies” after a “Democrat one-party rule” in the state.

Speaking at a Monday briefing at the White House, Hegseth could not help noting that the timeline of the rescue operation suggested God may have had a hand in its positive outcome.

When the downed weapons systems officer activated his transponder after hiding himself on a remote mountainside in southwest Iran, his first message was “God is good,” Hegseth recounted.

The secretary of war pointed out the officer was “Shot down on a Friday — Good Friday — hidden in a cave, a crevice, all of Saturday, and rescued on Sunday. Flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday.”

"A pilot reborn, all home and accounted for, a nation rejoicing: God is good."

.@SecWar: "Shot down on a Friday — Good Friday — hidden in a cave, a crevice, all of Saturday, and rescued on Sunday. Flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter." pic.twitter.com/1GWtaiYoyj

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 6, 2026

Jesus was crucified on Good Friday, buried in a cave, and rose again on Sunday morning, according to the Bible.

Such overt talk about the Christian faith by a top administration officer like Hegseth is quite a contrast to the Biden administration. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Recall how the previous president hosted bizarre, godless events at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and declared Easter Sunday in 2024 "Transgender Day of Visibility."

God is good.

— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) April 5, 2026

President Donald Trump told Axios that inquiries about the rescued officer made it clear he was religious, and that citing God as he headed for an uncertain future would be in keeping with his faith.

Interestingly, the New York Post reported last year about the Christian faith that NASA’s “astronomical models suggest that a lunar eclipse turned the moon red over Jerusalem on Friday, April 3, 33 AD -- a date many scholars tie to Jesus’ death.”

That happened to be the date that Good Friday fell on this year, and Easter was April 5, as it would have been back then, assuming those calculations are correct.

Dallas Theological Seminary professor Mark Hitchcock highlighted on his podcast last week that this coincidence of Good Friday falling on April 3 has only happened 19 times since the year 1600 AD, and four times over the last 100 years.

The Bible answer site Got Questions reported that A.D. 33 is the likely year of Jesus’ crucifixion, based on a prophecy in the book of Daniel.

In Daniel 9, the prophet writes of being visited by the angel Gabriel while he and his fellow Jews were being held in Babylonian captivity. Gabriel told him that the time from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem is issued until the “anointed one” (i.e., Jesus) is cut off (crucified), would be 69 weeks of years, or 483 years.

King Artaxerxes of Persia issued the decree to “restore and rebuild Jerusalem” around 444 B.C.

“Converting the 360-day year used by the ancient Jews, 483 years becomes 476 years on our solar calendar. Adjusting for the switch from B.C. to A.D., 476 years after 444 B.C. places us at A.D. 33, which would coincide with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1–9). The prophecy in Daniel 9 specifies that, after the completion of the 483 years, ‘the Anointed One will be cut off’ (verse 26). This was fulfilled when Jesus was crucified,” according to Got Questions.

Christian author and speaker Dutch Sheets, on his Monday podcast, which he titled "History's Divine Orchestrator," noted that Sunday (starting Saturday night at sundown for the Jews) was also Nisan 17 on the Hebrew calendar.

Besides Jesus' resurrection happening on that date, some other notable events occurring around this date in Nisan (known as the "month of miracles"), according to the Bible, were the parting of the Red Sea and then, 40 years later, the Israelites’ crossing of the Jordan River into the Promised Land on dry ground.

So all that to say, the Easter miracle rescue for the downed Air Force officer may have occurred not only on the exact date that Jesus walked out of his tomb 1993 years ago, but also on the date of some other major miracles in the Bible.

Anti-ICE protesters refused to allow the members of Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ in peace and joy on Sunday, according to Alpha News.

The church, which was the site of a demonstration in January led by Don Lemon and other protesters, has been the site of protests for weeks, even on Easter Sunday.

Emily Heather Phillips, 33, of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, was arrested Sunday and charged with four misdemeanors, including disorderly conduct, interrupting a religious observance, knowingly participating in a noisy assembly, and continuing to disturb the peace.

She did not stay in jail long.

During her arraignment Monday at 9 a.m., Ramsey County District Court Judge Maria Mitchell, who was appointed in 2022 by Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, threw out the charges, saying there was "no probable cause.”

That’s not how St. Paul police saw it in a statement posted to X.

“At 8:35 a.m. today, Saint Paul police officers were working contracted overtime at Cities Church when a group of protesters [was] outside of the church during Easter services. The protesters were using a blow-horn and yelling loudly, disrupting the church services,” police wrote.

“The protesters were given numerous announcements by officers to stop, or they would be cited and possibly arrested. The majority of the group complied. One person, an adult female, did not comply and was arrested by officers for interference with religious observance, and Saint Paul City Ordinances 293.02 and 293.07,” police wrote.

Trisha Pohland, the attorney for Phillips, said her client had a First Amendment right to ruin a Christian holy day.

“Law enforcement is really cracking down on First Amendment rights,” she said, according to the Saint Paul Pioneer Press.

“It’s very important that individuals have the right to protest without the fear of going to jail," she added.

Cities Church parishioners continue to be ‘hounded’ and ‘harassed’ by anti-ICE protesters, churchgoer says

"They block the sidewalk and are cussing us out as we walk into church," a churchgoer told Crime Watch Minneapolis. "I just want the freedom to worship without [fear] and… pic.twitter.com/4YNWEOsxf4

— Alpha News (@AlphaNews) April 1, 2026

Jonathan Parnell, lead pastor at Cities Church, said he was “disheartened” that the charges were tossed.

“State law protects the right of people of faith to worship in peace, and I call on state and local officials to enforce the law,” Parnell said.

About 20 protesters “gathered in the green space on Summit Avenue in front of the entrance to Cities Church,” Parnell said. “They held signs with obscenities and yelled harassing comments at families and individual worshippers.”

Parnell said he was “grateful for SPPD’s measured response and their efforts to protect the congregation’s ability to gather and worship peacefully. While similar protests have continued in recent weeks, the people of Cities Church have sought to respond with patience and kindness."

Speaking from inside the White House, Trump threatened the media figures who published the leak with incarceration.

On Saturday, U.S. forces rescued a weapons systems officer wounded after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps shot down an F-15E fighter jet.

That action occurred one day after U.S. forces rescued the aircraft's pilot in a remote area of southwestern Iran.

Despite the successful missions, the president on Monday voiced his extreme displeasure with the leaker and the unnamed media outlet.

"These two extraordinary rescues -- because it was two," Trump said in a clip posted to the social media platform X.

Then, as often happens, the president paused his prepared remarks to follow a different train of thought.

"And as you probably know," he continued, "we didn't talk about the first one for an hour. Then somebody leaked something, which we'll hopefully find that leaker. We're looking very hard to find that leaker."

By "that leaker," Trump meant someone in the government who presumably spoke to a media outlet.

"And [they talked about] there's somebody missing," the president added. "They basically said that we have one, and there's somebody missing. Well, they didn't know there was somebody missing until this leaker gave the information."

Trump then pledged to threaten the relevant media figures with jail time unless they identified the source of the leak.

"So whoever it was -- we think we'll be able to find it out," he added, "because we're gonna go to the media company that released it and we're gonna say 'national security, give it up or go to jail.'"

Moments later, the president blamed the leaker and the media outlet for alerting Iranians to the downed weapons officer's presence.

"When they did that," Trump said, "all of a sudden, the entire country of Iran knew that there was a pilot that was somewhere on their land, that was fighting for his life, and it also made it much more difficult for the pilots and for the people going in to search for him."

NEW: President Trump reveals a 'leaker' released vital information about the search and rescue mission for the downed pilot in Iran:

"We're looking very hard to find that leaker... [Iran] didn't know there was somebody missing until this leaker gave the information."

"We're… pic.twitter.com/X8zycP7sHI

— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 6, 2026

According to the ACLU, despite bipartisan support for the Free Flow of Information Act in 2014, no federal "shield" law exists to protect reporters from arrest and prosecution if they refuse to disclose a source.

Most states, on the other hand, do have such laws on the books.

“Our great republic was founded on a simple, yet bold idea. Our rights as citizens are not granted to us by government, but instead, by God," Hegseth said in a video posted to the social media site X on Thursday.

"The Second Amendment to our Constitution enshrines the right of all citizens to carry weapons to protect themselves, their families, and their fellow countrymen," he continued. "The War Department's uniformed service members are trained at the highest and unwavering standards. These warfighters, entrusted with the safety of our nation, are no less entitled to exercise their God-given right to keep and bear arms than any other American.”

Hegseth cited recent terrorist attacks against military bases, noting that “in these instances, minutes are a lifetime."

"And our service members have the courage and training to make those precious short minutes count," he said.

The former Army National Guard infantry officer explained that it was “virtually impossible for War Department personnel to get permission to carry and store their own personal weapons” on U.S. bases.

“Effectively, our bases across the country were gun-free zones. Unless you’re training or unless you are a military policeman, you couldn’t carry," Hegseth declared. "You couldn’t bring your own firearm for your personal protection onto post."

Hegseth announced that this is "no longer" going to be the case.

Our military installations have been turned into gun-free zones—leaving our service members vulnerable and exposed.

That ends today. pic.twitter.com/IQ204YepZ0

— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) April 2, 2026

"The memo I’m signing today directs installation commanders to allow requests for personal protection to carry a privately owned firearm, with the presumption that it is necessary for personal protection."

"If a request is for some reason denied, the reason for that denial will be in writing and will explain in detail the basis for that direction," Hegseth concluded. "Again, the presumption is service members will be able to have their Second Amendment right on post.”

This is a no-brainer. If citizens are entitled to carry firearms for personal protection, why not service members?

They're trained in how to operate weaponry, can handle life and death situations, and are prepared to go to war at a moment's notice.

If personal firearms are safe in the hands of an average American, then members of the military shouldn't be denied that same protection.

Moreover, advertising that a building, military base, or designated area is a "gun-free zone" is foolish, and can backfire drastically.

Those who support such measures tend to virtue signal and brag about how it helps prevent violence, even when the reality is quite the opposite.

If a potential mass shooter were scouting a target, they would be more likely to attack a place where they knew their victims couldn't fight back.

On the other hand, if they tried to perpetrate an act of violence among people who were legally carrying firearms, they'd likely find themselves on the business end of a weapon that would neutralize them completely.

This could be the reason we've seen so many shootings at schools, movie theaters, houses of worship, government buildings, and college campuses. These institutions, even if they are well-intentioned, are telegraphing to mass shooters that they will face little resistance if they choose to carry out an assault there.

It's always better to have some insurance by allowing law-abiding citizens to carry weapons for personal protection, especially service members.

Once again, Hegseth is applying common sense to military regulation and is wisely citing the Bill of Rights to get it done. It doesn't get much simpler than that.

Thursday night, the Iranians shot down an F15-E fighter jet in a mountainous southwest region of their country.

The pilot and his weapons systems officer ejected from the plane. The pilot was recovered that day, but the rescuers could not reach the WSO, code-named "Dude Bravo 44," who was "injured quite seriously," the New York Post reported.

The Air Force colonel employed his Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) training and, though injured, made his way up a mountainside, avoiding capture for over 48 hours.

“At the president’s direction, we deployed both human assets and exquisite technologies that no other intelligence service in the world possesses to a daunting challenge comparable to hunting for a single grain of sand in the middle of a desert,” Ratcliffe told reporters.

“This was also a race against the clock, as it was critical that we locate the downed aviator as quickly as possible, while at the same time keeping our enemies misdirected,” he continued.

.@CIADirector: "CIA executed a deception campaign to confuse the Iranians, who were desperately hunting for our airmen. On Saturday morning, we achieved our primary objective by finding and providing confirmation that one of America’s best and bravest was alive... Following the… pic.twitter.com/HYPXdvhxPf

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 6, 2026

"For that reason, in addition to the human and technical assets deployed by the president to find our airman, CIA executed a deception campaign to confuse the Iranians, who were desperately hunting for our airman,” Ratcliffe said.

Politico reported, “The CIA spread word inside Iran that U.S. forces had already found the airman and were exfiltrating him out of the country by ground, according to two senior administration officials.

“The feint bought time for the CIA to locate the downed airman and quietly relay his precise whereabouts to the White House and Pentagon, added the two officials, who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the media,” the news outlet added.

Ratcliffe told reporters, “On Saturday morning, we achieved our primary objective by finding and providing confirmation that one of America’s best and bravest was alive and concealed in a mountain crevice -- still invisible to the enemy, but not to the CIA.”

“Following the successful exfiltration on Saturday night, our intelligence reflects that the Iranians were embarrassed and ultimately humiliated by the success of this audacious rescue mission,” he explained.

Trump said Monday of the mission, “We're here today to celebrate one of the largest, most complex, most harrowing combat searches ... ever attempted by the military."

"We had great talent, and we got a little luck, too, I would say,” he added.

Trump said the decision to rescue both pilots came with great risk “because we could have ended up with a hundred dead, as opposed to one or two.”

A large contingent of U.S. special operations personnel reportedly took part in the rescue.

https://www.youtube.com/live/7LJyMj7SKgY?si=gp_byy-Zyspysp-p&t=850

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth could not help noting that the timeline of the rescue operation suggested God may have had a hand in its positive outcome.

When the downed weapons officer activated his transponder, his first message was “God is good,” Hegseth recounted.

.@SecWar: "Shot down on a Friday — Good Friday — hidden in a cave, a crevice, all of Saturday, and rescued on Sunday. Flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter." pic.twitter.com/1GWtaiYoyj

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 6, 2026

The secretary of war noted the officer was "Shot down on a Friday -- Good Friday -- hidden in a cave, a crevice, all of Saturday, and rescued on Sunday. Flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday."

In the Hollywood of the last two decades, few hearts remained colder and more hardened against God than that of celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton, who developed a reputation for tearing people down without remorse.

Now, following a recent hospital stay and near-death experience, during which, he said, "God presented himself to me," Hilton has recorded a series of YouTube videos professing repentance, expressing gratitude to God for saving him, and sharing the Bible with viewers.

Indeed, God's revelation of Himself to Hilton has effected one of the most miraculous transformations in memory.

"This is the most important video that I've ever shared," Hilton said in a video posted to YouTube on March 23. "My stupidity landed me in the hospital for 21 days. And it was the worst and best thing that's ever happened to me."

The celebrity blogger then promised to begin and end on a positive note before describing his horrific health scare.

"One of the most special things about this experience," he said moments later, "is that God presented Himself to me. It was not a feeling. God presented Himself to me."

One could sense the earnestness in Hilton's voice as he recounted the experience.

"And I grew up Catholic," he added. "I was baptized, had my Communion, confirmed, went to Jesuit school for seven years, but I was never a believer until now. God presented himself to me and then did something, something that I could only call miraculous. And I was very lucid. It was real."

As he spoke those words, Hilton's voice cracked. Then, he began to cry.

"And this has been life-changing," he continued. "I'm so grateful, I'm excited to start taking the kids to church every week, and to just know that God is real."

Tears flowed freely down both cheeks as he spoke of now knowing God.

After his remarkable, introductory testimony, Hilton spent more than 20 minutes recalling his entire harrowing-yet-blessed hospital experience, which began with him failing to take flu medication with food, as directed, which caused him to develop an ulcer, then a perforation, and eventually sepsis.

Still, he preferred to dwell on the positive.

"It wasn't all bad," he said nearly 17 minutes into the video.

Indeed, Hilton had what he characterized as healing conversations with his mom. He wept while describing his sister as "my angel."

Above all, though, the divine encounter changed him.

"Every day I will be grateful to God," he said.

To understand the jaw-dropping transformation in Hilton, one need only watch the following video of his career lowlights. Note, for instance, Hilton's mockery of Christianity and belief in general within the video's first 30 seconds.

Likewise, around the 1:10 mark, note the viciousness with which he went after 2009 Miss California, Carrie Prejean (now Carrie Prejean Boller), for daring to give a Biblical answer to his question about legalizing same-sex marriage.

Nonetheless, as He once did for the Apostle Paul, God touched Hilton's heart.

“I know you don’t want me to talk about God anymore, but God has forgiven me,” he told his audience in a video posted Thursday to YouTube.

"I've been reading the Bible," an emotional-sounding Hilton said between deep breaths, "and so much of what is said here, I had already been thinking of. It's just overwhelming in the best, most beautiful way."

Moments later, Hilton recalled that he began "sobbing" when he read in the Bible that God wanted him to have a fruitful life.

For the next few minutes, the celebrity blogger marveled at how much love he has received since his transformation. He also said that he knows that God loves him and has forgiven him.

But God's forgiveness follows repentance, which Hilton did not withhold.

"I made a lot of mistakes in my past," he admitted.

Moments later, he got choked up when he confessed his "deep shame and regret."

Indeed, the entire video invoked Christian themes.

"My heart is filled with gratitude, and love, and repentance," Hilton said near the video's end.

Then, on Monday morning, Hilton posted another tearful and prayerful video.

"If I do cry," he said in the latest video, "that is because God saved me more than once recently in so many ways."

Incredibly, the celebrity blogger had to return to the hospital for a blood clot in his leg.

"And God got me through it again," he declared joyfully.

Interestingly, on pro-life activist Lila Rose's podcast in November, Hilton apologized to Prejean Boller for those 2009 comments, which he characterized as "intentionally cruel."

Perez Hilton apologizes to Carrie Prejean Boller for his self-described “cruel” reaction to her defense of traditional marriage at Miss USA 2009 — a moment many believe cost her the crown.

"It was cruel. It was intentionally cruel... I'm sorry." pic.twitter.com/f34g4cdWPQ

— lilaroseshow (@lilaroseshow) November 11, 2025

Did Hilton's apology pave the way for God's grace during his recent trauma?

Either way, one can scarcely imagine a more complete transformation than what Hilton appears to have experienced.

During a Holy Saturday interview aboard the moonbound Artemis II spacecraft, pilot Victor Glover stressed the similarity between the ship's crew and the human population on Earth.

He also highlighted the "beauty of creation" for all.

Astronaut Victor Glover delivers beautiful Easter message from space, praises God’s creation.

“When I read the Bible and I look at all of the amazing things that were done for us…”

“You're on a spaceship called Earth that was created to give us a place to live in the universe,… pic.twitter.com/OnABmW6Sz4

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) April 4, 2026

"As we are so far from Earth and looking, you know, at the beauty of creation, I think, for me, one of the really important, personal perspectives that I have up here is I can really see the Earth as one thing," Glover said.

"You guys are talking to us because we're in a spaceship really far from Earth, but you're on a spaceship called 'Earth' that was created to give us a place to live in the universe and the cosmos," Glover said.

"Maybe the distance we are from you makes you think what we're doing is special, but we're the same distance from you," he added.

"And I'm trying to tell you -- just trust me -- you are special. In all of this emptiness -- this is a whole bunch of nothing, this thing we call the universe -- you have this oasis, this beautiful place that we get to exist together," he said.

"I think, as we go into Easter Sunday, thinking about all the cultures all around the world, whether you celebrate it or not, whether you believe in God or not, this is an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are, and that we are the same thing, and that we've gotta get through this together."

The crewmembers then clasped their hands together in appreciation.

While Glover deliberately made the message appealing to believers and nonbelievers alike, there is no getting around the Christian context of his words.

He's not only a veteran astronaut, but a Christian and member of a Church of Christ congregation near NASA's Space Center in Houston, according to The Christian Chronicle.

In a 2020 interview with The Christian Chronicle, he described sending communion cups to the International Space Station in preparation for a six-month tour of duty 250 miles above Earth. (That act, in itself, harkened back to astronaut Buzz Aldrin's special celebration of communion on the moon during the Apollo 11 lunar landing of 1969.)

The eldest of Glover's four daughters is named Genesis, the publication noted.

And on the eve of the holiest day of the Christian calendar, he had the opportunity to speak to listeners  around the world.

And that message got through:

Much-needed perspective from Astronaut Victor Glover ahead of Easter. https://t.co/DM9AwJxlfN

— Senator Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) April 5, 2026

I’m pleasantly shocked to see something like this. It is a truly inspirational message from an astronaut in space. This is epic.

— CT (@CTtheViking) April 5, 2026

What a beautiful message from Victor Glover from space this Easter.
I look forward to hearing more of what this man has to say. https://t.co/MdULBfnV3b

— Gina Carano (@ginacarano) April 5, 2026

He is right calling the earth a oasis.The oasis is,God said it was GOOD.

— Henry Bouwman (@7777HBouwman) April 5, 2026

The similarities between Glover's words and the astronauts of Apollo 8 reading the book of Genesis to a global audience in December 1968 were striking. Like that iconic moment, Glover put a stellar spotlight on creation -- which presupposes the existence of a Creator.

He emphasized the Earth as an "oasis," a "beautiful place" for mankind's benefit, and the "amazing things that have been done for us."

For the countless billions of believing Christians in the world, of course, the most "amazing thing" in the history of humanity is God incarnate coming to Earth, and His sacrifice on the cross that made possible the redemption of humanity.

The image of Glover speaking while crammed so tightly with his fellow crew members is likely to linger in the memory of anyone who's watched it.

But his message is one that should never be forgotten.

Bannon served four months in federal prison beginning in July 2024 after being convicted on two counts of contempt of Congress by a Washington, D.C., jury for failing to comply with a subpoena from the House Jan. 6 committee, established by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Bannon -- who served as Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign CEO and as an aide in the Trump White House in 2017 -- had invoked executive privilege regarding communications that he had with the president in the lead-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol incursion.

Executive privilege is the right of presidents to withhold sensitive communications from Congress, the courts, or the public regarding deliberations he has with his advisers.

CBS News reported that a three-judge panel of a Washington, D.C., federal appeals court upheld the conviction. Bannon then sought to stay out of prison while he appealed his conviction further, but the Supreme Court denied the request in June 2024.

Bannon described himself as a "political prisoner" at the time before reporting to the Federal Correctional Institution at Danbury, Connecticut, to serve his sentence.

“I am proud of going to prison,” he said, adding, “If this is what it takes to stand up to tyranny. If this is what it takes to stand up to the corrupt, criminal [Department of Justice]. If this is what it takes to stand up to Joe Biden, I’m proud to do it.”

🚨LISTEN: Steve Bannon gives a powerful speech outside of the Connecticut prison he will be held in followed by a beautiful moment of prayer:

"I am proud to go to prison. If this is what it takes to stand up to tyranny. If this is what it takes to stand up to the Garland… pic.twitter.com/aRZqvZn7lp

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 1, 2024

In a February filing to the Supreme Court, Trump Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote, "The government has determined in its prosecutorial discretion that dismissal of this criminal case is in the interests of justice."

The Supreme Court granted Sauer's request to vacate the criminal conviction against Bannon and instructed the district court to review the DOJ's desire to have the case dismissed in its entirety.

NBC News reported that a dismissal of the case would be "mostly symbolic," but it would clear Bannon of having a criminal record.

"This case should never have been brought, and we’re delighted that the decision affirming Mr. Bannon’s unlawful conviction has finally been vacated,” Michael Buschbacher, one of Bannon’s lawyers, said in an email to NBC.

White House aide Peter Navarro also served a four-month sentence in 2024 in federal prison for not complying with a Jan. 6 committee subpoena.

He was released in time to be a featured speaker at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July of that year.

“The D.C swamp, they convicted me. They jailed me. Guess what? They did not break me,” Navarro proclaimed in front of a raucous crowd.

"The D.C swamp, they CONVICTED me. They JAILED me." Peter Navarro speaks at the 2024 RNC.
"THEY DID NOT BREAK ME!" pic.twitter.com/kY5orqQVs3

— RSBN 🇺🇸 (@RSBNetwork) July 17, 2024

The Biden DOJ declined to prosecute then-Attorney General Merrick Garland for defying congressional subpoenas issued by Republican-led House committees.

Further, the Obama DOJ refused to prosecute then-Attorney General Eric Holder and former Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner for not complying with GOP congressional subpoenas.

In addition to receiving Reese, the Dream got a 2028 second-round draft pick swap, and the Sky acquired Atlanta’s 2027 and 2028 first-round picks, Newsweek reported.

The Sky went 10-34 this past season, resulting in a winning percentage of just .227, tied for dead last with the Dallas Wings.

Reese, 23, will join forces with league star Brittney Griner, 35, when she officially suits up for Atlanta.

Despite the age gap, both players have been embroiled in controversy and garnered negative headlines for various incidents.

Griner was arrested back in 2022 for smuggling cannabis oil in the form of a vaporizer cartridge into Russia during an overseas game with UMMC Ekaterinburg, which took place during the WNBA off-season.

Former President Joe Biden chose to initiate a prisoner swap and gave up Russian felon and notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout, nicknamed “the Merchant of Death," in exchange for her freedom.

Back in 2024, Griner also accused fans of being racist and claimed they were yelling slurs at players during the game.

“I don’t appreciate the new fans that sit there and yell racial slurs at myself, my teammates, and the people that I play against because, yeah, those might be opponents but those are friends, too,” she said.

Griner’s claim was met with skepticism online, including from some who noted that -- in the age of smartphones -- such actions would have likely been caught on video and gone viral.

Reese, on the other hand, has been known for an ongoing feud with WNBA star Caitlin Clark, and for showing intense physical aggression toward the Indiana Fever point guard.

She has also been accused of trying to pad her stats by missing simple shots on purpose and getting her own rebounds.

Angel Reese with her signature move 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/K3slCimkq8

— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) May 23, 2025

Reese reacted to the news of being traded by posting a message to the social media site X that read, "An Angel’s DREAM ATL WHAT UP?!"

An Angel’s DREAM💭
🅰️TL WHAT UP?! @AtlantaDream pic.twitter.com/obtqyhl35e

— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) April 6, 2026

The post also included pictures of Reese in an Atlanta uniform.

"I'm beyond grateful for the opportunity to join the Atlanta Dream organization," Reese added, according to ESPN. "I'm focused on continuing to grow my game, competing at the highest level, connecting with the fans, and giving everything I've got to the Dream."

The revelation came during an interview with Trey Yingst of Fox News, with Trump repeating the account Monday morning while speaking to reporters outside the White House.

"I'm very upset with a certain group of people, and they're gonna pay a big price for that," the president said on the latter occasion.

By a "certain group of people," Trump meant the Kurds.

Indeed, the president merely reiterated what Yingst reported on Sunday.

"Now the president also provided new details on what happened earlier this year as the Iranian regime took to the streets and slaughtered what the president tells me is 45,000 civilians in their own country," Yingst said in a clip posted to the social media platform X.

"After that took place," Yingst continued, "President Trump told me the United States sent guns to the Iranian protesters. He tells me, 'We sent them a lot of guns. We sent them through the Kurds.' And the president says he thinks the Kurds kept them. He went on to say, 'We sent guns to the protesters -- a lot of them.' And so a number of headlines here from my conversation with President Trump."

NEW: The United States sent guns to the Iranian protesters through the Kurds, President Trump told Fox News.

"We sent guns to the protesters, a lot of them," President Trump told me. "And I think the Kurds took the guns." pic.twitter.com/CmAfYJVkIH

— Trey Yingst (@TreyYingst) April 5, 2026

Then, on Monday outside the White House, the president made additional news by indicating that he predicted the alleged betrayal.

"You know, we sent some guns," Trump said. "But the group that was supposed to give -- which I said would happen, to my people, I said it, I called it exactly -- we sent guns, a lot of guns. They were supposed to go to the people so they could fight back against these thugs."

Without naming the alleged culprits, the president then promised retribution upon those who stole the weapons.

"You know what happened?" he continued. "The people that they sent them to kept them. Because they said, 'What a beautiful gun, I think I'll keep it.' So I'm very upset with a certain group of people, and they're gonna pay a big price for that."

Trump then insisted that the Iranian people, if they had weapons, would fight their regime.

Trump on Iran: We sent to some guns. They were supposed to go to the people so they could fight back against these thugs. The people we sent them to kept them. I am upset with a certain group of people and they will pay a big price. pic.twitter.com/9Zrweng9RU

— Acyn (@Acyn) April 6, 2026

Anti-regime protests erupted in Iran late last year. Then, when the calendar turned to 2026, mass bloodshed ensued.

According to Time, senior Iranian officials confirmed that the regime might have killed as many as 30,000 of its own people on Jan. 8 and 9 alone.

As for how soon after that slaughter the U.S. attempted to arm the remaining protesters, Trump did not say.

The Kurds, an ethnic group consisting of roughly 30 million people, occupy parts of four countries, including northwestern Iran, per The Kurdish Project. The president also did not say which, or how many, of those people allegedly betrayed the United States.

As noted by the Department of Homeland Security, Katie’s 2025 death came at the hands of an illegal immigrant who was driving drunk.

But according to an op-ed Abraham wrote for Fox News, her tragic passing was news to Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth, and was effectively brushed aside by Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin.

“On March 25, 2026, I traveled to Washington, D.C. to testify before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution. Sen. Durbin -- one of Illinois’ senators -- was part of that broader committee process. Yet it was my other senator, Tammy Duckworth, whom I encountered outside the hearing rooms at the U.S. Capitol,” he wrote.

“I introduced myself and explained why I was there. I told her about my daughter -- an innocent victim in a case that raises serious questions about sanctuary city and state policies she has supported,” Abraham continued.

“Her response surprised me. She told me that she was unaware of Katie’s story,” he wrote.

“Unaware. Fourteen months after her death, a United States senator, who represents me in Congress, was still unfamiliar with an incident that profoundly affected one of her constituents."

Senator Duckworth’s outrage is misplaced. Enforcing immigration law isn’t “intimidation”—it’s federal responsibility. Sanctuary policies shield criminal illegals, leading to tragedies like Katie Abraham’s murder. The National Guard’s deployment under Title 10 authority ensures…

— Watch DOGE (@dogeai_gov) September 9, 2025

Abraham said he offered to speak with Duckworth about the incident.

“What followed were calls from the senator’s staff offering condolences, and later a request for my email address so the senator could send a letter. I declined. A form letter, while perhaps well-intentioned, is not the same as direct engagement or a meaningful effort to understand,” he wrote.

He noted that the other member of the upper chamber from Illinois could not even do that.

“For more than 14 months, Sen. Durbin has not publicly acknowledged Katie’s story -- no statement, no outreach, no recognition,” he wrote, even when he was only feet away from Durbin at the hearing.

"She [Katie Abraham] was my daughter. She should be finishing school right now. She should be planning for her future. She should still be laughing with her family and friends. Instead, her urn sits in a room we constructed." - TABS Angel Dad, @angeldadjoe pic.twitter.com/ioCYFsSeUT

— The American Border Story (@TABSReport) April 1, 2026

“What is most difficult is not simply disagreement over policy, it is the feeling that the human impact of these outcomes is not always fully recognized,” he added.

He wrote that sanctuary policies have impacts, but “too often, those who have advanced or defended these policies are reluctant to fully grapple with their consequences.”

Katie Abraham should be turning 22 today.

Instead, her life was stolen in a hit-and-run crash caused by an illegal immigrant with a criminal record in Illinois.

Sanctuary policies didn’t protect Katie. They failed her. pic.twitter.com/RNFN4h6pf4

— America First Policy Institute (@A1Policy) March 28, 2026

“At the heart of this issue is a broader question about responsibility. Public policy should strive to balance compassion with accountability. It should remain open to evaluation, especially when lives are affected."

The attacks took place in northern Nigeria with an estimated total of 26 dead, according to a report from the Associated Press, citing Nigerian military and local officials.

The 17 individuals who were killed on Saturday died after armed men attacked the Mbalom community in the Gwer West area of Nigeria’s north-central Benue State.

Benue State Gov. Hyacinth Alia confirmed the deaths on Sunday. A local resident, Tarhana Samson, said the attacks were “devastating.”

“The rainy season is coming, and this is when people are preparing to go to their farms. How do they do that now?” he asked.

There was yet another attack on Easter Saturday against a police headquarters in Borno State.

Borno Police Public Relations Officer Kenneth Daso told The Associated Press that the assault resulted in the death of four police officers following a gunfight with an Islamic State-affiliated group.

In addition, an Easter service in Ariko village saw gunmen kill five people, according to army sources.

The identity of the gunmen is still unknown.

“Regrettably, the remains of five victims already killed by the terrorists were also recovered at the scene,” the army reported. “The fleeing terrorists are believed to have sustained significant casualties, as evidenced by blood trails along their escape routes.”

The BBC also reported that 31 civilians were held hostage during the Ariko church siege Sunday. The hostages were ultimately rescued.

Soldiers had a "fierce firefight" with the attackers and were able to get them to retreat, forcing the suspects to abandon their hostages and the bodies of their victims.

Despite the army's claim about responding quickly, the BBC wrote that local media reports said the gunmen were able to operate "for a long time without facing resistance."

The AP blamed "disputes over land and grazing between mostly Muslim Fulani herders and largely Christian farming communities" for the violence, saying their conflicts "frequently escalate into deadly clashes."

President Donald Trump has frequently commented on the murder of innocent Christians in Nigeria and abroad.

In November, only one day after denouncing such attacks, he posted a message on Truth Social suggesting that he might send troops overseas if the Nigerian government didn't stop the bloodshed.

“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” he wrote.

Trump added, "I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action. If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians! WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!"

In early December, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Nigerians who are involved in the persecution of Christians will not receive visas.

About three weeks later, Trump announced that he had "launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!"

"I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was," the commander in chief added. "The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing. Under my leadership, our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper."

Mainstream media outlets have been criticized for downplaying the crisis of Christian persecution in Nigeria and for choosing to focus on attacks against Muslims.

Two House Republicans, however, introduced new legislation in February that would require the State Department to create a report detailing American efforts to help persecuted Nigerian Christians.

GOP Reps. Riley Moore of West Virginia and Chris Smith of New Jersey proposed the “Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026,” which seeks to assess Nigeria’s cooperation with U.S. efforts to safeguard its Christian community.

“This legislation makes clear that the United States stands with our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ and seeks to help Nigeria address its many challenges,” Moore said in a press release.

The report, to be compiled by Rubio, would include an assessment of Nigeria’s compliance with the International Religious Freedom Act.

Miriam Lancaster, a resident of the province of British Columbia, recounted how quickly ER doctors at Vancouver General Hospital offered her Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) in response to the cause of her pain -- a fractured sacrum, or a break in a bone at the base of the spine connected to the pelvis.

"I was approached by a young lady doctor whose very first words out of her mouth is, ‘We would like to offer you MAID.’ I was taken aback," Lancaster recalled in a March 18 post on the social media platform X.

"That’s the last thing on my mind. [I] just wanted to find out why I was in pain and did not want to die."

After rejecting assisted suicide, Lancaster spent a month in the hospital doing rehab and has since recovered from her injuries.

"[I] recuperated nicely enough that I could take some trips," the retired piano teacher said.

"So my recovery has been amazing. And there was no need for MAID to even be suggested.”

I met an 84-year-old woman who was offered euthanasia at a Canadian hospital practically upon arrival.

Miriam didn’t want to die. She recovered well and travelled to Cuba, Mexico, and Guatemala.

Stop offering death to people who have adventures to lead! pic.twitter.com/ZjEfSaKmix

— Amanda Achtman (@AmandaAchtman) March 18, 2026

Six weeks after she fractured her sacrum in April 2025, Lancaster walked her daughter down the aisle at her wedding, according to Canada's National Post.

"She later travelled to Cuba (before the U.S. oil blockade), Mexico and, most recently, walked and rode on horseback up Guatemala’s Pacaya volcano," the outlet reported.

Lancaster and her daughter, Jordan Weaver, said committing suicide goes against their Catholic faith.

“My mother and I are practicing Catholics. We would never accept MAID under any circumstances," Weaver told the National Post.

“The doctor said, ‘Well, you could get rehab, but it will be a long road, and it will be very difficult. We don’t know what to expect,'" Weaver recounted.

Weaver said the hospital did offer other treatment options after she and her mother rejected MAID, but she's stunned it was presented as a first option.

“My mother is not frail. She climbed a volcano in Guatemala,” she told the National Post. “She’s a dynamo. She reads books. She goes to the theater. She’s alert. She takes the public bus on her own. She’s active."

"Her life is valuable to the people who care for her," Weaver underscored.

Assisted death is legal across Canada -- with its infamous socialized medicine structure. In the United States, according to the pro-assisted death group Compassion and Choices, it is legal in 13 states, plus the District of Columbia:

• California
• Colorado
• Delaware
• District of Columbia
• Hawaii
• Illinois
• Maine
• Montana
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• Oregon
• Vermont
• Washington

MAID is typically offered to terminally ill patients who are in chronic, unmanageable pain.

Lancaster said her husband, who died from metastatic cancer in 2023, was offered assisted death.

“Of course, he turned it down,” Lancaster told the National Post. “We are churchgoers. We both are ready to go when the Lord calls us, and that’s what happened to him.”

While she understands the hospital was required to offer MAID as an option to her terminally ill husband, she said it was premature in her case.

“I had already seen that MAID gets presented pretty quickly, in this day and age. But I was a lot healthier. He had cancer,” Lancaster said.

Lancaster's daughter agreed that the course of action shouldn't have been offered to someone who wasn't dying.

"[To] be offered MAID right off the bat for a non-life-threatening condition? It was a matter of pain management. The bone would eventually heal,” Weaver told the National Post.

“Just because someone is 84 does not mean they’re ready to go on the scrap heap of life. It’s an insult to seniors.”

Sadly, the growing phenomenon of assisted death reflects the disposable, nihilistic mindset of modern society, where human life is viewed through a lens of utility rather than intrinsic worth.

It should come as no surprise that liberals typically support assisted suicide, while conservatives generally oppose it.

Assisted death is increasingly being normalized as a "treatment option" in a strained, single-payer health care systems (such as in Canada) where ongoing medical care costs the government money.

"Good morning, welcome to 'Today' on this Monday morning," Guthrie said at the start of the show. "We are so glad you started your week with us, and it is good to be home."

"Yes, it is good to have you back at home," co-host Craig Melvin replied.

"Well, here we go, ready or not, let’s do the news," Guthrie added.

.@SavannahGuthrie to @CraigMelvin at the top of NBC's 'Today' after the opening teases: "It is good to be home. Well, here we go. Ready or not, let's do the news." pic.twitter.com/awpGTBK1Rj

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) April 6, 2026

According to "Today," Guthrie deliberately wore a yellow dress as a way of paying tribute to her missing mother.

The color "has become a symbol of hope in Arizona and support for the Guthrie family from those praying for Nancy Guthrie’s return," the "Today" report noted.

Her appearance on "Today" marked the 10th week since her mother, Nancy, disappeared on Jan. 31. Guthrie stepped away from the show shortly thereafter to focus on finding her mother, but to no avail.

Late last month, Guthrie told former "Today" host Hoda Kotb that she believed returning to the show was "part of my purpose right now," though she worried about returning to an environment full of "joy and lightness."

"I can’t come back and try to be something that I’m not," she said, according to NBC News. "But I can’t not come back because it’s my family. I don’t know if I can do it. I don’t know if I’ll belong anymore, but I would like to try."

Kotb subsequently announced the date of Guthrie's return.

BREAKING: NBC's Hoda Kotb announces Savannah Guthrie will RETURN to the 'Today' show on Monday, April 6.

As @AlRoker, @CraigMelvin, and @JennaBushHager noted, it'll be fitting that is the day after Easter, the day Savannah and her fellow brothers and sisters in Christ celebrate… pic.twitter.com/IfR0VazD8c

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) March 27, 2026

During her first day back on Monday, Guthrie gave a shout-out to fans who'd gathered on Rockefeller Plaza wearing yellow and holding up signs in honor of her mother.

"I’m excited to see them and give them all a hug," Guthrie said, according to CNN. "I’ve been really feeling the love so much."

In an Easter video message delivered a day earlier, Guthrie admitted to experiencing "moments of deep disappointment with God, the feeling of utter abandonment" amid her mother's disappearance.

But she also stressed that the resurrection of Jesus can't be fully celebrated "if we do not acknowledge the feelings of loss, pain, and yes, death."

https://youtu.be/PiZUnuD3IiM?si=uQjiFTVG4eXUyjIj&t=2921

As for the investigation into Nancy Guthrie's disappearance, a $1 million reward has been offered by her family for information leading to her recovery.

"Authorities believe Nancy Guthrie was kidnapped, abducted or otherwise taken against her will," according to The Associated Press.

The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) and its activist co-plaintiffs petitioned the Fulton Superior Court on March 25 demanding review Georgia Power’s bid to buy or build 28 energy generative resources.

The suit alleges the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (PSC) exceeded its legal authority by allowing a “monopoly utility” to make “unnecessary and uneconomic investments that will be charged to captive customers,” according to the petition documents.

The SELC is a non-profit environmental law firm that received at least $50 million from Fred Stanbeck, a billionaire who frequently donates to groups supporting environmental causes, abortion, and population control.

The SELC took over $175.4 million in donations from the Foundation for the Carolinas where Stanbeck is a one of the largest account holders.

SELC represented the Sierra Club on behalf of itself, Georgia Interfaith Power & Light, Park Avenue Church, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Savannah, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and the Sierra Club Georgia Chapter leader Adrian Webber.

Georgia Interfaith Power & Light (GIPL) is an environmental activist group that “inspires and equips communities of faith to organize, implement practical climate solutions, and advocate across Georgia on issues of climate change, environmental justice, and community resilience,” according to their website.

Park Avenue Church describes itself as an “abolitionist church,” and its goal as a parish is “not only to resist militarism and policing in a patriarchal, white supremacist system but to co-create along with the Spirit of God, new systems,” according to their website.

PSC issued Georgia Power a certification allowing the company 9,617 megawatts, bringing their total capacity to 32,117 megawatts. The large energy purchase was made to meet potential demand from companies interested in building data centers in Georgia, according to the petition documents.

The SELC argued the PSC overstepped its statutory power by approving 757 megawatts more than their capacity requirements, estimated at 31,360 megawatts. 757 megawatts powers more than 150,000 households, according to the petition documents.

The petition claimed Georgia Power misrepresented the certification costs allocated to existing customers rather than new customers amid other projects driving up demand. The plaintiffs argued Georgia Power’s certification plans demonstrate unnecessary costs have already been incurred, noting a proposed $100 million methane gas-fired power plant through 2026 prior to certification.

The SELC said that Georgia Power presented several of the resources as being immune from competitive bidding and the PSC did not “make a determination” whether Georgia Power could purchase the resources without the bid process, according to the petition.

“The Commission’s approval of new gas units in the 2025 All‑Source Certification proceeding will only prolong fossil‑fuel dependence, worsen pollution, and impose unnecessary costs that show up directly on the bills of Georgians,” said plaintiff Adrien Webber in a statement to the SELC.

“We are tired of a Public Service Commission bending and outright breaking its rules and the law to give Georgia Power whatever it wants, no matter the cost to our air and water or the impact on our monthly energy bills.”

Georgia Power is owned and operated by the Southern Company, a large utility company that received a historic $26.5 billion loan to expand Georgia and Alabama’s electrical grids  from the U.S. Department of Energy in February.

Energy companies have faced massive legal challenges in court concerning their negative effect on the climate. Maryland Supreme Court dismissed local lawsuits from Baltimore, Annapolis, and Anne Arundel County against 26 fossil fuel companies on March 24.

The plaintiffs claimed the companies violated Maryland law by damaging the climate via fossil fuel emissions.

Trump attended the opening night of “Chicago” Tuesday at the Kennedy Center with First Lady Melania Trump, where he was “mostly cheered,” according to the Associated Press.

SNL’s “Weekend Update” host Michael Che made an apparent reference to President Abraham Lincoln, who was assassinated during a performance at Ford’s Theater in 1865.

“President Trump attended the opening night of ‘Chicago’ at the Kennedy Center, and I think that’s cool that the President is going to the theater. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?” Che asked, before the audience laughed before going into cheers and applause.

Trump survived two assassination attempts during his 2024 presidential campaign. During a July 13, 2024 campaign rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania, Trump was slightly wounded when a bullet fired by Thomas Crooks grazed his ear.

A Sept. 15, 2024, assassination attempt by Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was thwarted by Secret Service agents at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.

Secret Service agents also shot and killed an unidentified man attempting to force his way onto Mar-a-Lago early in the morning of Feb. 22, the agency said in a statement.

Two agents and a deputy from the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office confronted an individual in his early 20s, who was armed with a shotgun and carrying a gas can, according to a press conference held by federal and local law enforcement officials and statement from the Secret Service.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office in West Virginia announced on Jan. 25 that Morgan L. Morrow of Ripley, West Virginia, was charged with one count of making a terroristic threat, in a post on its Facebook page.

Ripley allegedly sought someone with “a terminal illness” to make an attempt on Trump’s life.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Ammar Campa-Najjar -- who is campaigning to represent a district east of San Diego -- is the boyfriend of California Democratic Rep. Sara Jacobs, who is also the heiress of the fortune behind technology company Qualcomm.

Campa-Najjar has been a U.S. Navy Reserve officer since 2023, but his campaign materials called him a "Navy Officer," according to a report from the New York Post.

The Navy nevertheless has policies making clear that candidates for office cannot exaggerate their service, including their service in the Navy Reserve.

Campa-Najjar also took heat for apparently using photos at the Massachusetts National Cemetery for campaign purposes.

He was photographed in front of the grave for Richard K. Stephenson, a veteran of the Korean War who passed away in 1997.

Campa-Najjar's campaign confirmed to the New York Post that the candidate has no connection to Stephenson.

The candidate was "participating in an official Memorial Day event where he, alongside his unit, honored fallen service members.”

“At no point did the campaign engage in political activity at a VA cemetery, and any suggestion otherwise is a misrepresentation of both the facts and the applicable rules,” Andi McNew, his campaign manager, told the outlet.

"Ammar has been compliant with (Department of Defense) directives on permissible political activity," McNew also said.

"The Navy has not requested any changes be made."

KPBS reported on March 27 that the U.S. Navy is "looking into the matter" of whether Campa-Najjar broke the rules by exaggerating his service.

Pentagon directives say that reservists "must clearly indicate their retired or reserve status" when running for office.

They are not allowed to show pictures of themselves in uniform alongside biographical details unrelated to the military unless there is "a prominent and clearly displayed disclaimer that neither the military information nor photographs imply endorsement by the Department of Defense or their particular Military Department."

Campa-Najjar's campaign website indeed prominently features pictures of him in uniform.

The website was updated to say "Navy Reserve officer" instead of "Navy Officer," according to KPBS.

In another statement, his occupation was changed from "U.S. Navy Officer" and "College Educator" to "U.S. Navy Reserve Officer/College Educator."

Soleimani, a notorious commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a crucial figure in providing advanced IED components that were used against American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, was killed in a Jan. 2020 strike.

The State Department said Soleimani’s niece and her daughter had been living a “lavish lifestyle in Los Angeles.”

“Last night, the niece and grandniece of deceased Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Major General Qasem Soleimani were arrested by federal agents following Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s termination of their lawful permanent resident (LPR) status,” a statement released Saturday said.

“Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter are now in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. As identified by both press reporting and her own social media commentary, Soleimani Afshar is an outspoken supporter of the totalitarian, terrorist regime in Iran.”

Until recently, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter were green card holders living lavishly in the United States.

Afshar is the niece of deceased Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani. She is also an outspoken supporter of the Iranian regime who celebrated attacks on…

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) April 4, 2026

“While living in the United States, she promoted Iranian regime propaganda, celebrated attacks against American soldiers and military facilities in the Middle East, praised the new Iranian Supreme Leader, denounced America as the ‘Great Satan,’ and voiced her unflinching support for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a designated terror organization,” the statement continued.

President Donald Trump announced that the United States military commenced Operation Epic Fury in a video posted on Truth Social early in the morning of Feb. 28.

“The Trump Administration will not allow our country to become a home for foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes,” Rubio said in a Saturday post on X.

Rubio called for the visas of foreign students who supported Hamas to be revoked during an Oct. 17, 2023, appearance on “The Ingraham Angle” while commenting on pro-Hamas demonstrations that took place at multiple universities and colleges in the days after the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas that killed over 1,200 people in Israel.

“The law says if you are a supporter of a terrorist organization you shouldn’t even have a visa,” Rubio told Fox News host Laura Ingraham during that appearance.

“So now, once you get that visa, if you identify yourself as a Hamas supporter, then you should have your visa canceled and you should be removed from the country.”

Alen Zheng allegedly placed an improvised explosive device at the MacDill Air Force Base Visitor’s Center, while his sister, Ann Mary Zheng, allegedly assisted his avoidance of justice, according to an April 3 news release from the Department of Homeland Security.

The Zheng siblings were born on American soil after their parents, Qiu Qin Zou and Jia Zhang Zheng, entered the country illegally from China.

The parents applied for asylum in 1993 but were denied.

Despite being ordered for removal by an immigration judge in 1998, they remained in the United States for the following three decades.

Meet Qiu Qin Zou and Jia Zhang Zheng, two illegal aliens from China who exploited birthright citizenship and had anchor babies in the U.S.

Their children were recently arrested after they reportedly attempted to bring an explosive device onto a U.S. military base.

The Supreme… pic.twitter.com/KZmN6bJb5Z

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 3, 2026

“Automatically granting citizenship to children of illegal aliens born in the U.S. is based on a historically inaccurate interpretation of the Citizenship Clause and poses a major national security risk," Acting Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement.

"That reality became apparent last week when two U.S.-born children of Chinese illegal aliens were indicted for planting a potentially deadly explosive device outside MacDill Air Force Base in Florida,” she added.

“This incident underscores the severe national security threat that illegal immigration and birth right citizenship pose to the United States.”

Ann Mary Zheng is also in federal custody, having been apprehended once she returned to the United States from China.

But Alen Zheng is believed to still be residing in the communist nation.

The Department of Homeland Security indeed linked the case to ongoing debates about birthright citizenship, which was recently considered in oral arguments before the Supreme Court.

🚨🚨🚨 A federal investigation into a failed bombing at MacDill Air Force Base has led to a series of criminal charges against two Land O’Lakes siblings — Alen Zheng and Ann Mary Zheng.

On Mar 10, 2026, Alen planted an improvised explosive device (IED) in a secluded location… pic.twitter.com/PLhgebYKER

— Byron Wan (@Byron_Wan) March 26, 2026

"The attempted attack illustrates why the improper recognition of 'birthright citizenship' for children of illegal aliens is not only inconsistent with the Constitution, but endangers all Americans," the agency asserted.

Some read the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution as granting citizenship to anyone born on American soil, even if their parents were not citizens or were even illegal aliens.

But others say the Fourteenth Amendment was meant in its original context to grant citizenship to the children of emancipated slaves.

The Treasury Department’s latest anti-fraud advisory is not happening in a vacuum. It is part of a broader, coordinated crackdown – one that is already exposing systemic failures in blue states and forcing long-overdue accountability.

Start with Minnesota, now ground zero in America’s fraud crisis. Federal investigators and watchdogs have uncovered a sprawling web of abuse across public programs, including Medicaid and child nutrition.

In one infamous case, a nonprofit scheme siphoned off $250 million intended to feed low-income children. But that may only scratch the surface. Some estimates suggest fraud across Minnesota’s public programs could reach into the billions of dollars, with one federal prosecutor warning that as much as half of certain program funds may have been stolen. This didn’t happen overnight, and it didn’t happen without warning.

Audits, whistleblowers, and investigators repeatedly flagged vulnerabilities in Minnesota’s system. Yet under Democratic Gov.

Tim Walz, oversight failures persisted. In fact, the state was ultimately forced to pause payments across 14 Medicaid programs due to fraud concerns, a stunning admission of systemic breakdown.

The Trump-Vance Administration responded decisively. Federal officials have already withheld hundreds of millions in Medicaid funding from Minnesota and signaled that billions more could be at risk unless the state implements serious reforms.

Minnesota has effectively become the first battlefield in what Vice President J.D. Vance has called a nationwide “war on fraud” – and it won’t be the last.

California is now under similar scrutiny.

Federal officials, including Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, have warned of widespread abuse in the state’s massive Medicaid system. Concerns have been raised about explosive growth in questionable hospice providers and billing practices, especially in the Los Angeles area – patterns that investigators say are consistent with organized fraud. This is a pattern, not an anomaly.

Across multiple blue states, federal authorities are identifying the same vulnerabilities: Weak verification systems, lack of real-time oversight, and bureaucratic resistance to reform.

In some cases, these failures have allowed criminal networks to exploit programs at scale, using shell companies, stolen identities, and fraudulent billing schemes to drain taxpayer funds.

In Minnesota, federal and state authorities have already conducted enforcement actions, including raids on businesses accused of fraudulent billing tied to Medicaid and other programs.

These are not isolated incidents; they are symptoms of a deeper governance problem. And the cost to taxpayers is staggering.

Health care fraud alone is estimated to cost the United States tens of billions annually, with some projections climbing far higher. That is money taken directly from working Americans – diverted from seniors, vulnerable families, and patients who rely on these programs.

Trump’s response has been to go on offense.

His administration has launched a government-wide Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, strengthened coordination between Treasury, the U.S. Department of Justice, and federal inspectors general, and empowered financial institutions to identify and report suspicious transactions in real time.

At the same time, new whistleblower incentives are designed to expose fraud networks from the inside out.

The Treasury Department’s recent advisory underscores this strategy by focusing on the financial pipelines that make large-scale fraud possible. By targeting suspicious transactions and enhancing reporting requirements, the Trump-Vance Administration is not just reacting to fraud; it is working to prevent it. That’s the difference between rhetoric and results.

Critics like California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, and many others in the radical Left, argue that these actions are politically motivated or risk disrupting services.

But that argument ignores a fundamental truth: allowing fraud to flourish is itself a threat to vulnerable Americans.

Every dollar stolen is a dollar denied.

And for too long, states like Minnesota and California failed to take that reality seriously enough.

To be clear, fraud is not a partisan issue. It exists in red states and blue states alike. But the scale and persistence of failures in certain states—combined with resistance to federal oversight—have made them focal points in this national crackdown.

The lesson is simple. Accountability matters. Oversight matters. Leadership matters.

Trump’s war on fraud is exposing what happens when those principles are ignored, and what can be achieved when they are restored.

For the forgotten Americans who play by the rules, pay their taxes, and expect their government to do the same, that shift is not just welcome. It’s necessary.

Jorge Martinez is Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff at Defend Forgotten America. He previously served as press secretary for the U.S. Department of Justice.

 The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The story was told by Axios, which said that the expression of faith from a highly religious warfighter at one time led to concerns that the phrase may have come from someone else.

President Donald Trump said that after the weapons officer ejected from the jet as it was crashing toward Iranian soil, he said, “Power be to God."

A U.S. defense official whom Axios did not identify said Trump had the words wrong, and that the officer actually said, “God is good.”

God is good.

— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) April 5, 2026

That phrase was adopted by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth in a triumphant Sunday morning post on X.

But before the weapons officer was rescued, there were concerns that the message could have come from an Iranian captor.

"What he said on the radio sounded like something a Muslim would say," Trump said.

And so as officials tried to find his location and assemble a rescue team, the weapons officer’s faith came into play.

🚨BREAKING: President Trump just revealed that the rescued American hero’s VERY FIRST transmission after going down in Iran was “GOD IS GOOD!”

INCREDIBLE!

America is a Christian Nation and our faith will ALWAYS be at the forefront. Absolute masterclass! 🙏🏼🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/Az3PMbbxtC

— Ryan Fournier (@RyanAFournier) April 5, 2026

Trump said that inquiries about the officer made it clear he was religious, and that citing God as he headed for an uncertain future would be in keeping with his faith.

"It was not completely clear early on, but we stuck with it and verified he was alive and not captured. And those who knew him said he is religious," the official said.

Trump said the rescue came as "thousands of these savages were hunting him down," referring to Iran’s army.

"Even the population was looking for him. They offered people a bonus if they captured him,” he said.

The rescued F-15 crew member said one thing into his radio after he ejected from his jet over Iran:

“God is Good”

✝️ 🙏🏻

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) April 5, 2026

Although some reports indicated there was no fighting during the dramatic rescue, the New York Post reported that commandos and local tribesmen dueled during the rescue.

CBS News reported that the officer had nothing more than a handgun with which to defend himself.

Virginia’s latest budget dedicates more than $1.8 million to the DEI office annually for fiscal years 2025 and 2026.

The $1.8 million is larger than the annual budget for “Governmental Affairs Services” and “Intergovernmental Relations” in the governor’s office.

It is also larger than the funding for “Personnel Management Services” for the attorney general’s Department of Law, adjudication training in the state Supreme Court, “Emergencies Prevention and Response” at the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the entire budget for a legislative commission tasked with recommending policies related to Virginia’s youth.

The DEI office’s budget roughly equals that of “Adjudicatory Research, Planning, and Coordination” at the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission, which is in charge of the Commonwealth’s sentencing guidelines for crimes.

Moon did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

She will work to “advance a future in which all Virginians have access to opportunity — to include residents from some of the hardest-to-reach communities throughout the Commonwealth,” she told the press in December.

Virginia legislators mandated the chief diversity officer role in 2020, requiring the appointee to “develop a sustainable framework to promote inclusive practices across state government,” form a “plan to address systemic inequities in state government practices” and “facilitate methods to turn feedback and suggestions … into concrete equity policy.”

Former Republican Glenn Youngkin aimed to defang the DEI office by replacing the “equity” in its title with “opportunity” and appointing staunch DEI critics to lead it, The Virginia Mercury reported.

Democrats rejected his proposal to divert some funds from DEI to the general governor’s office fund.

Legislators are now considering another $3.6 million for the office over the next two fiscal years after Democrats won the legislature and governorship in the 2025 elections.

Moon’s state profile boasts liberal accolades such as Harvard University’s “DEI Pioneer Award,” a degree in African-American studies from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), the school’s “Black History in the Making Award” and being “the first Black queer woman to establish an endowed scholarship fund in university history.”

The Spanberger appointee was also the Biden administration’s chief diversity officer for a science lab at the Department of Commerce.

Moon also served as Democratic Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s chief brand strategist and led the U.S. House’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion from 2022 until lawmakers voted to disband it in March 2024, according to CNN and VCU.

President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to scrap “radical” and “wasteful” DEI programs. He also threatened civil rights enforcement against private companies and federally funded schools that adopt discriminatory policies under the DEI banner.

Trump’s DEI crackdowns caused the corporate diversity job market to plummet in 2025, the DCNF previously reported.

Infusing DEI into public institutions is “a constitutional mandate,” Moon declared in a 2024 panel, responding to growing criticism of such programs.

“I truly do approach this work from a nonpartisan lens,” she said.

“For me, DEI is not a red or blue issue. It is actually a constitutional mandate, if you actually read the Constitution, to ensure that there’s geographic representation.”

But it was not easy, as the tale of Saturday’s rescue of an F-15E weapons officer illustrated, according to a report in The New York Times.

Hundreds of people were involved in the days-long operation that began Friday after the U.S. Air Force plane was hit by enemy fire over Iran. Amid heavy Iranian fire, the pilot was picked up about six hours after the crash.

But the weapons officer was nowhere to be found, having landed far from the pilot after being ejected.

It did not look good. Drones and surveillance planes found no trace of the weapons officer. But the officer was alive and battling to survive. He hiked up 7,000 feet and hid in a crevice awaiting the rescue he knew would come.

Over the past 48 hours, I had the privilege of witnessing two of the most daring, bold, and courageous rescue operations in American history.
Each phase was marked by profound moments of grace—small miracles made possible through unrelenting tenacity, extensive experience, and…

— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellUSA) April 5, 2026

It was not until 14 hours after the crash that officials located him through the beacon he carried, but used sparingly to ensure Iranian forces did not find him. By the time Americans entered the scene, a force was amassing at the base of the elevation where he had taken shelter.

The CIA tried to create a ruse, sending word into Iran that the downed airman was rescued and in a convoy heading out of Iran. Iran partially bought the ploy, but kept searching nonetheless.

As time passed, American and Israeli officials ensured the weapons officer was alone and not captured.

As that took place, a massive operation unfolded with about 100 Special Operations forces, including SEAL Team 6, with Delta Force members and Army Rangers ready if needed. Helicopters, surveillance planes, fighters, and aerial tankers were assembled.

Special Operations helicopters carried U.S. forces to the location where the weapons officer was waiting. To forestall an Iranian attack, American and Israeli warplanes bombed nearby mountains. Commandos fired into thin air to ward off any Iranian patrols who wanted to attack.

No fight took place. Officials told The New York Times that the region where the weapons officer landed is broadly opposed to the regime.

The rescued airman was ferried by helicopter to an airstrip Special Operations forces had previously prepared. But the plan developed a glitch.

Two C-130 aircraft were unable to take off. The New York Times reported that their nose gear was stuck in the dirt of the airstrip.

After hours of failed efforts to free the C-130s, three replacement aircraft were sent. The C-130s were destroyed to ensure Iran could not use them, and the weapons officer was flown to Kuwait.

pic.twitter.com/ZqujhrFC4d

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 5, 2026

The Washington Post reported that two MH-6 helicopters were also destroyed.

The mission had been a gamble and experienced complications, but the officer was safe, and no one was injured in freeing him.

“We have rescued the seriously wounded, and really brave, F-15 Crew Member/Officer, from deep inside the mountains of Iran. The Iranian Military was looking hard, in big numbers, and getting close. He is a highly respected Colonel,” President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social.

"This type of raid is seldom attempted because of the danger to ‘man and equipment.’ It just doesn’t happen! The second raid came after the first one, where we rescued the pilot in broad daylight, also unusual, spending seven hours over Iran. An AMAZING show of bravery and talent by all!"

Trump said further details would be released Monday.

Over 70 percent of American voters and 55 percent of Democrats believe their party’s leaders do not have the right priorities, according to a CNN/SSRS poll cited by Enten.

The party’s approval ratings stand at a historic low in comparison to past midterm elections years.

“You might say, OK, well, at least Dems like Democrats. Not the case,” Enten said.

“Look at this. The majority of Democrats are independents who lean Democrats. Look at this. Fifty five percent say no. Congressional Democrats do not have the right priorities. And then you just see a minority. Forty five percent of Democrats say that congressional Democrats have the right party. This to me just jumps out at the screen because it screams primary challenges all over the map. And it says that even if Democrats don’t like Donald Trump, they don’t like their own party either when it comes to Congress.” 

Democrats’ net approval rating with their voters stood at -4 points as of Thursday, which dropped significantly from the +28 and +19-point net approval rating they had in 2006 and 2018, Enten said.

He pointed out that these historically low numbers will likely cause primary challenges across the map during the 2026 midterms.

“That is Democrats. Democrats own net approval of their own congressional leaders,” Enten said.

“Even Democrats don’t like their own leaders when it comes to Congress. And overall, of course, the numbers are just absolutely awful. So Democrat on Democrat crime. Absolutely. This to me screams again, primary challenges across the map. And it screams to me, hey, when it comes to those next leadership elections, maybe something might be.”

Some experts have said that Democratic voters are frustrated with the party’s inability to stand up to President Donald Trump, according to Newsweek.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer received major scrutiny from his party after he failed to persuade eight Democratic senators to vote against reopening the government in November.

Schumer’s chances of remaining the leader of his caucus have dropped from 65% on Dec. 1 to 50% currently, Enten said.

“We’ve seen a number of Senate candidates, Democrats across the map saying we don’t want any part of Chuck Schumer to be the next leader,’ Enten continued. 

Democrats’ approval ratings have remained at record-lows, with one survey by Quinnipiac University finding that 18% of voters approved of congressional Democrats’ job performances.

In an 8-1 ruling on Tuesday, the Supreme Court held Colorado’s so-called “conversion therapy” ban regulated Christian counselor Kaley Chiles’ speech based on viewpoint.

Twenty-three states, along with the District of Columbia, have laws like Colorado’s, according to the Movement Advance Project. Many are realizing the ruling could open them up to more legal challenges.

Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said his administration is reviewing the Chiles v. Salazar ruling to “determine the full implications for Maryland law and any appropriate next steps,” according to Maryland Matters.

“For Marylanders, our law remains in place for now, but this decision may make it more vulnerable to legal challenges,” Jeremy Browning, director of the Maryland Commission on LGBTQIA+ Affairs, told the outlet on Wednesday.

“That raises real concerns about our ability to prevent harm before it happens.”

Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark told Vermont Public she would talk to state lawmakers about whether they should adjust the law to protect it from legal challenges.

“Our law is actually pretty good,” Clark told the outlet Thursday. “Any recommended changes that we have — I think it’s probably going to be more of a tweak than an overhaul.”

Democrat lawmakers in some states are pushing legislation to allow patients to sue for alleged damages from “conversion therapy,” including in Colorado, where such a bill advanced in the state House on Wednesday.

“While the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Colorado’s conversion therapy ban law is deeply harmful, we’re not giving up the fight to protect the rights of LGBTQ+ Coloradans,” Democratic Colorado state Rep. Karen McCormick said in a statement.

“It can take years for an individual to realize that the trauma of conversion therapy has caused anxiety, depression or other long-term health impacts, but Colorado law only allows two years to file a damages claim against a provider. Our bill addresses this gap, allowing LGBTQ+ Coloradans time to heal and a fair process to hold those who have caused long-lasting impacts accountable.”

One California lawmaker recently proposed a bill that “allows survivors of conversion therapy to seek civil remedies and justice through malpractice lawsuits.”

“In light of the Supreme Court’s horrific ruling … we must create new strategies to protect LGBTQ youth,” Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener said in a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle.

“All major medical associations agree that no ‘therapy’ can change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Attempting to do so only provokes profound feelings of shame and trauma and leads to depression and suicidality.”

The ruling’s requirement for laws like Colorado’s to face the highest First Amendment scrutiny will “apply to every single one of these laws around the country,” Jim Campbell, chief legal counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, explained on a press call Tuesday.

“The one thing we know is that whenever a court has applied that kind of heightened scrutiny to one of these laws, it has struck it down,” he said.

“We think this decision will lead directly to all of those laws being unconstitutional to the extent that they try to be applied to someone like Kaley who is just engaged in voluntary conversations.”

The Sixth and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeals have similarly found talk therapy is speech protected by the First Amendment, coming down against “conversion therapy” bans in Michigan and a Florida county.

“Colorado may regard its policy as essential to public health and safety,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in his majority opinion.

“Certainly, censorious governments throughout history have believed the same. But the First Amendment stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country. It reflects instead a judgment that every American possesses an inalienable right to think and speak freely, and a faith in the free marketplace of ideas as the best means for discovering truth.”

Harris County Civil Court Judge Nathan Milliron was seen in footage circulating on Instagram speaking to the aforementioned worker about an audio issue in the courtroom when he became agitated about the situation.

"Okay, false alarm," the worker told the judge after checking the issue. "No, it wasn't a false alarm."

"False negative," the worker said, chuckling and trying to ease the tension.

"Don't joke around. I'm serious about this. It was happening," the judge shot back.

He told the man to "get out of my courtroom," before ranting to himself. "Try and be civilized... sick and tired of this bulls**t today."

WARNING: The following footage contains language some viewers may find offensive. 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Dale Flournoy (@nsgdale)

Although the exchange could be dismissed as a one-off, a report from the New York Post documented other instances of this behavior from Milliron.

In emails with District Clerk Marilyn Burgess, he said, “My court will no longer be stagnant because of DCO’s ineptitude,” wanting respect as a “duly elected judge."

He also wrote, “THIS IS NO LONGER AN ASK. GET ME A CLERK THAT RESPONDS TO ME and does the job!”

In another email to the district clerk's office, he spoke down to a woman identified as "Lisa," calling her a subordinate.

“Lisa -- you got an e-mail today… right? Own it. I’m the District Judge and your (sic) are absolutely a subordinate."

"You have someone that wants to be in 215th… you can’t stomach it… right? I will."

The New York Post reported that Milliron is also facing trouble with the Texas Ethics Commission over failure to comply with filing laws for a campaign finance report and a personal financial disclosure report.

The judge is fairly new to the bench, having taken office in January 2025.

While one could excuse his power trip as stemming from a lack of experience and an arrogance in having authority in a courtroom, Milliron might want to change his tone quickly.

According to Ballotpedia, he won over his incumbent Democrat opponent Elaine Palmer by a razor-thin 304 votes.

His term lasts until the end of 2028.

Perhaps he should come off his high horse if he plans to continue in this role for another term.

If the HTF were depleted, highway and transportation funding would face a 46 percent cut, resulting in project freezes and payment delays and forcing states to fund projects themselves, leading to tax increases on their residents.

“The gas tax and diesel tax … are no longer a sufficient source of funding for the Trust Fund,” a spokesperson for Republican Missouri Rep. Sam Graves, who heads the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“More vehicles are using less gas — or no gas, in the case of EVs — so not everyone is paying their fair share for the use of the roads.”

The spokesperson added that the Highway Trust Fund has exceeded revenues since 2001 and relied on “user pay” since its founding, but the model is becoming increasingly strained. 

“Our transportation systems are critical to our national security, economy, and way of life,” A spokesperson for Republican North Carolina Rep. David Rouzer, chairman of the House Highways and Transit Subcommittee, told the DCNF.

“As vehicles have become more fuel efficient — or, in the case of EVs, do not pay any gas tax at all — it is important to identify new sources of funding that are fair to all users and sustainable long-term.”

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), which provides roughly $383 Billion to the HTF, is set to expire sometime in 2026. Lawmakers are working on reauthorizing the BIL this year, though it’s unlikely, and a short-term extension of the bill may be coming to give Congress more time to address the HTF, according to Politico.

The letter promotes several solutions, such as the “user pay” model, where drivers and riders pay taxes that go to construction and repairs, mileage-based fees for drivers, and improving price sensitivity by aligning fees paid by a driver more closely with the vehicle type, for example, a commercial vehicle versus a sedan.

“We respectfully urge Congress to take practical, incremental steps in the upcoming transportation legislation to put the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) on a stable and sustainable path,” the letter states.

In 2021, a record-breaking $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill was signed into law by former President Joe Biden, aimed at rebuilding infrastructure and expanding internet access, with little results 5 years later.

Around $42 billion was earmarked to provide internet to those in rural areas, but the project failed to launch a single project or connect a single user.

The 2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure gave roads a “D+,” a small increase from the previous “D” grade in 2021.

The Nation’s Highways, Bridges and Transit report by the Department of Transportation cited poor ride quality worsened from a 2008-2018 period (rising from 15.8 percent to 22.6 percent).

The HTF currently relies heavily on the gas tax, which accounts for 91% of all revenue deposited into the fund. The tax rate, which currently sits at 18.4 cents per gallon, has remained unchanged since 1993.

Fewer Americans are also paying into the system as electric vehicles grow in popularity.

Graves previously supported a proposal to impose a $250 annual fee on electric vehicles and a $100 fee on hybrids as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, though the measure was not included in the final legislative text.

Foreign attacks could also harm GPS systems used to provide drivers with navigation and positioning, the letter warns. It also suggests ending dependence on Chinese-made batteries for electric vehicles and charging stations due to security threats.

“A GPS outage would cost billions of dollars daily.” The letter to Congress states. “Cars driven in America should carry GPS backup systems tested by the US Department of Transportation.”

Infrastructure is far more expensive than it should be due to regulatory burdens that lead to delays, experts wrote. Layered regulations require projects to comply with federal, state, and local requirements, leading to overlap. A large urban project could face an average delay of 11 months and $5.1 million in additional economic costs, according to a 2011 Texas Transportation Institute study.

Christian families living in the capital city were told that they must leave within the next few days, per a report from International Christian Concern.

These families were resettled in Islamabad after the Rimsha Masih case in 2013, during which Masih, then a 14-year-old girl, was arrested on blasphemy charges.

Authorities claimed that she desecrated pages from the Quran.

Two weeks later, the Muslim cleric who reported her to the police was arrested for allegedly planting the pages in her bag, and she was eventually acquitted.

International Christian Concern noted that because Masih was a Christian, the case created "serious threats against the Christian community."

Many families were moved to the communities in Islamabad "so they could live without fear," and have built new lives there over more than a decade.

But now they are being asked to leave.

The government's Capital Development Authority is claiming that the housing communities are not legal.

"There is no proper resettlement plan, no alternative land, and no clear compensation being offered to these families. This has raised serious concerns among the community," International Christian Concern added.

Believers are praying and protesting, asking government leaders to halt the evictions until a solution is found.

Most of the families come from low-income backgrounds.

Some are not going to work because they fear that their homes could be demolished while they are gone.

"They work in jobs such as sanitation, domestic work, and other day labor," International Christian Concern said. "Missing work even for a day is difficult for them, but the fear of losing their homes is even greater."

Pakistan ranks eighth on Open Doors' World Watch List for Christian persecution.

Beyond the specific threat against the Christians in Islamabad, Pakistan's authorities have been using blasphemy laws to threaten Christians, with false accusations frequently emerging.

Those found guilty of blasphemy can even face the death penalty.

There is also a threat of mob violence against Christians, who have limited protection from the Islamic authorities.

Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia Richard J. Leon, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, in a long-awaited ruling, enjoined Trump administration officials “from taking any action in furtherance of the physical development of the proposed ballroom at the former site of the East Wing of the White House.”

He said the administration should seek approval from Congress to proceed.

While weighing a lawsuit by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States against the project, Leon previously signaled his intent to require the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts to conduct their legally-authorized reviews of the design and consider its potential impacts on the White House campus.

“NCPC is not a party with that lawsuit. The injunction doesn’t speak to the NCPC review process,” Chairman William Scharf summarized as he began his report.

“From my perspective, we have a project before us: we’ve been asked to review it, and that’s really our job here today … we’ll move past that and continue our consideration of the Eastern modernization project.”

Scharf began the agenda item pertaining to the ballroom with a lengthy reaction to the court order and the intensity of public interest — notably expressed through a record submission of 32,000 comments — throughout the panel’s deliberative process.

The Trump-appointed chairman, who also serves as the White House staff secretary, then provided an expansive and detailed history of various improvement projects throughout the life of the Executive Mansion. Scharf offered numerous examples of criticism levied at various features of the White House.

“Criticism and skies-falling pronouncements from so-called historic preservationists and their allies in the press are therefore nothing new in the history of the White House,” Scharf said.

“While some might wish for history in the world to stand still, the fact of the matter is that the White House complex has constantly evolved to meet the programmatic needs of it. It is in that context in which I believe we must now review the ballroom project that is before this Commission.”

“This ballroom will be considered every bit as much of a national treasure as the other key components of the White House,” he promised, “and I believe that, in time, the nation and successive presidents of both parties of all political stripes long into the future will be grateful to President Trump for having initiated and brought this project into being.”

Commissioner Phil Mendelson, the chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia, echoed previous concerns about the NCPC’s perceived “piecemeal” and “rushed” consideration of the project.

He also lamented he “didn’t get a persuasive answer” to his objection regarding the proposed ballroom’s height.

“I think there’s a lot of value to the iterative process, and we’ve not had that,” Mendelson, the most critical of the commissioners, stated.

Commissioner Linda Argo, an appointee of District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, offered a similar complaint.

Longtime Commissioner Arrington Dixon, another Muriel appointee, suggested the project was meritorious, regardless of which president was in office at the time. “To the victor goes the spoils,” he quipped.

Commissioner Mendelson ultimately voted against the project; Commissioners Argo and Dixon voted as present. The rest of the NCPC voted in approval.

“I would like to thank the hardworking Commissioners and Staff of the National Capital Planning Commission, who just voted overwhelmingly, 8-1, to approve the magnificent White House Ballroom now rising on this Hallowed Ground,” Trump posted to Truth Social following the final vote.

“I am pleased to announce that even Board Member Senator Rand Paul, known as an extraordinarily difficult vote, voted a strong YES. For more than 150 years, every President has dreamt about having a Ballroom at the White House to accommodate people for Grand Parties, State Visits, and even, in the Modern Day, Inaugurations. I am honored to be the first President to finally get this much-needed project, which is on time and under budget, underway. When completed, it will be the Greatest and Most Beautiful Ballroom of its kind anywhere in the World, and a fabulous complement to our Beautiful and Storied White House!”

Having swiftly appealed the judge’s ruling, the Trump administration hopes to resolve all legal challenges to the ballroom project and maintain its projected 2028 completion before its biggest advocate leaves office.

Most accept it as an unavoidable fact of life. It doesn’t have to be this way.

The economy added 178,000 jobs in March, and the unemployment rate fell to 4.3 percent. Real wages rose again, increasing average American living standards.

After a rough February distorted by brutal weather across large parts of the country, the labor market has roared back. The naysayers who insisted that blip represented a crumbling economy were wrong, and the March data makes that plain.

Friday’s jobs report follows a strong ADP employment report on Wednesday that showed small businesses created 112,000 private-sector jobs in March.

While the employment picture was more nuanced at bigger companies, small businesses remain the engine of the economy.

Thanks to President Donald Trump’s strong border policies, which have stopped the massive influx of the labor force, the nation is, by any measure, at full employment.

The Kansas City Fed estimates that the number of jobs needed each month to keep the unemployment rate steady has fallen from around 150,000 to roughly 50,000.

Elevated oil prices are always a threat to small businesses, the labor market, and the broader economy. But the jobs report shows employers recognize today’s high gas prices as short-term pain that doesn’t alter the administration’s domestic pro-energy agenda, which represents a long-term structural shift.

Expanded drilling, streamlined permitting, and a commitment to American energy independence mean that today’s prices are a temporary headache, not a permanent condition.

Meanwhile, the federal government workforce continues to fall. Since Trump took office, federal government jobs are down by 12 percent and at the lowest level since 1966, a huge victory over big government. Every position shed from the federal payroll is a resource freed up for the productive private economy — the part of the economy that actually creates goods, services, and lasting prosperity.

America’s resilient economy and labor market are a direct result of last year’s Republican tax cuts. The restoration of 100 percent immediate expensing — allowing businesses to write off capital investments in full the year they’re made — gives employers a powerful incentive to expand.

The permanent 20 percent deduction for small business income and new interest deductions do the same. Together, these provisions are fueling exactly the kind of investment cycle that produces hiring and wage growth.

Guy Berkebile, chairman of Guy Chemical, a manufacturer south of Pittsburgh, explained the situation at an event hosted by Job Creators Network, Americans for Prosperity, Americans for Tax Reform, and the Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association, featuring U.S. Rep. Scott Perry this week: “Tax cuts leave us business owners with more money to invest in our employees and in expansion. Immediate expensing helps justify the costs of new projects by reducing the payback time.”

Small businesses like Guy Chemical can help Americans connect the dots between tax cuts and more jobs, higher wages, and a stronger economy.

The mainstream media will continue searching for ways to cloud any positive news. Our job is to look at the data clearly and call it what it is: a strong economy, a resilient labor market, and pro-growth policies that are working.

Alfredo Ortiz is CEO of Job Creators Network, author of “The Real Race Revolutionaries,” and co-host of the Main Street Matters podcast.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The firm, Covington & Burling, sent a pair of “startling” memos in early 2025 warning that ActBlue President and CEO Regina Wallace-Jones may have misled Republican Wisconsin Rep. Bryan Steil on how the platform makes sure donations are actually coming from U.S. sources, as required by law, according to the NYT.

The move reportedly triggered a “meltdown” at what the NYT described as “one of the Democratic Party’s most vital financial organs.

“An aggressive prosecutor may view the November 2023 letter not just as a false statement but as an effort to conceal the foreign contributions,” the firm wrote in one of the memos, the outlet reported.

Covington also indicated in a 2025 memo it determined there was “a substantial risk that some of the funds received” via its client, ActBlue, were “impermissible contributions from foreign nationals,” per the NYT.

“An aggressive prosecutor may view the November 2023 letter not just as a false statement but as an effort to conceal the foreign contributions,” the firm wrote in one of the memos reviewed by the NYT.

In another, the firm wrote that it had determined there was “a substantial risk that some of the funds received” by ActBlue were “impermissible contributions from foreign nationals.”

In her 2023 letter to Steil, Wallace-Jones claimed that ActBlue’s approach to preventing fraud “is multilayered, with checks and confirmations occurring throughout the donation process to verify donors and donor information.”

The letter came in response to the lawmaker’s October 2023 letter to the ActBlue CEO.

“These measures, which include compliance measures, technological tools, and manual reviews, help to ensure the identity of donors, root out potential foreign contributions, and protect donors from financial fraud,” Wallace-Jones wrote at the time to Steil, who has chaired the House Administration Committee since 2023.

However, Covington stated in the memos that some of the anti-fraud measures that Wallace-Jones described in her letter were not always being enforced by the fundraising platform.

For example, Wallace-Jones wrote in the November 2023 letter that ActBlue required U.S. passport information “from donors providing an address outside of the United States” in order for contributions to be processed.

However, Covington’s memos said this claim was not fully true.

ActBlue’s CEO claimed in her letter to Steil, “If a contribution appears to be from a foreign address, ActBlue contacts the donor to request United States passport information. The contribution is refunded if we are unable to make contact with the donor.”

However, Covington wrote in its memos that this was not always the case and donors who used apps like PayPal or Venmo to contribute did not have to verify their passport.

One of the law firm’s memos explicitly stated that ActBlue requested a summary of “potential legal risks associated with statements to Congress that may be alleged to be false or misleading,” according to the NYT.

An ActBlue spokesperson maintained in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation that Wallace-Jones’ letter to Steil was “accurate” and “carefully reviewed by inside and outside counsel and key business leaders prior to submission.”

“ActBlue has continually worked to comply with all FEC laws including laws related to appropriately screening for potential foreign contributions, which constitute less than 1% of the total contributions on the ActBlue platform. Of those, many come from the six million American citizens who live abroad—such as US military personnel,” the spokesperson added.

“We have continually improved our processes, even while facing repeated partisan attacks from the Trump Administration and its allies. Most importantly, ActBlue is stable and stronger than ever. We have a passionate team, are expanding our product suite, all while grassroots donors are continuing to break fundraising records,” the spokesperson’s statement continued.

“My investigation into ActBlue remains ongoing. I won’t stop until we have answers,” Steil wrote in a Thursday X post in response to the NYT’s story.

“Our investigation found ActBlue’s internal fraud prevention measures were wholly insufficient for preventing illegal foreign campaign donations. Today’s reporting reconfirms that finding and raises serious questions about whether ActBlue’s CEO intentionally misled Congress at the onset of this investigation,” Steil, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer wrote in a joint press release sent to the DCNF.

“We will continue our investigation and keep all options on the table as we seek the truth,” the three Republican lawmakers added.

“In some cases, reports allege that such persons are using untraceable, prepaid cards to ‘wash’ otherwise impermissible funds into apparently clean contributions, possibly including money from foreign sources,” Steil wrote in his October 2023 letter to Wallace-Jones. “Federal law prohibits contributions from foreign nationals to federal, state, or local campaigns.”

“Allegations also suggest that malicious actors employ standard identity theft practices to send unlawful funds through ActBlue platform users, with the names of actual persons used to make contributions without their knowledge or consent,” the Administration Committee Chairman added.

Steil and Marco Rubio — then a Republican Florida senator — expressed concerns in 2023 that the platform did not require donors to submit a credit verification value (CVV), the security code on credit cards used to help prevent fraud.

ActBlue has since changed its interface to require CVVs for donations via credit card, but users can still submit contributions on the platform using PayPal, Google Pay and Venmo after uploading CVV-less prepaid gift cards.

The Wisconsin Republican introduced the Secure Handling of Internet Electronic Donations (SHIELD) Act in September 2024 which would have required CVVs for online political donations and would have prevented the use of prepaid gift cards. The House passed the bill in December of that year via a voice vote — however, it did not receive a vote in the Senate.

At least seven senior ActBlue officials resigned in February 2025, The New York Times first reported the following month.

ActBlue, which is organized as a political action committee (PAC), is the primary fundraising platform used for Democratic candidates across the country, regardless of the office they are seeking.

Virginia Senate candidate Mark Moran had been using the platform while challenging Democratic Sen. Mark Warner in the party’s primary. However, less than an hour after leaving the party and switching to an independent run, Moran announced he had been kicked off ActBlue.

North Korea is one of the world’s most repressive and reclusive countries, yet Cupp argued on CNN’s “Table for Five” that America was becoming similar to it, even doubling down when former Republican New York City Councilman Joe Borelli told her she was being “extreme.”

“We should not want a militarized United States, with our streets militarized, our voting militarized, our airports militarized. I am so concerned about the North Korea coded stuff that is going on right now,” Cupp said.

“From [Attorney General] Pam Bondi unfurling a banner with Trump’s face on it on the DOJ [Department of Justice] building to Trump putting his signature on our currency and his name on the Kennedy Center, to inviting only friendly media outlets who are going to say exactly what you want in Pentagon briefings. I mean, it goes on and on and on.”

“When did we want to become North Korea? This should be unnerving, disturbing to everyone. This is not partisan. This is scary stuff,” she added.

“So it can feel like a slow creep, and MAGA will justify it using Trump’s lie about the election. But look around. Look around at your country, people. Is this what you want? You want to walk down the street and see, you know, rifles, guys with guns patrolling because for no reason at all, just to intimidate you? Is that what you want? You want to walk around and see the president’s face on the Department of Justice, which is a separate but co-equal branch of government? It’s bananas.”

The DOJ is part of the executive branch. Cupp launched her rant after being asked whether Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents should be present at polling locations during the midterm elections.

Borelli eventually pushed back on her alarmist rhetoric.

“Let’s just get back down to earth. You know, the North Korea comparison is a little extreme considering--,” he said before Cupp interrupted him, saying, “No, it’s not.”

White House border czar Tom Homan asserted Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” he had not been involved in any conversations about ICE’s presence at polling sites during the midterm elections.

“Has President Trump asked ICE to start making any sort of plans to go to polling sites during the midterms?” host Jake Tapper asked.

“I’ve had no discussions about that with President Trump or [Department of Homeland Security] Secretary Markwayne Mullin,” Homan said.

“Has not came up in any conversation.”

Myanmar experienced a military coup in 2021, and while the military only controls a portion of the nation's land area, it holds almost 90 percent of seats in parliament following a sham election earlier this month.

The military has a reputation of war crimes against civilians, especially if they happen to be Christians, according to a report from Premier Christian News.

Dr. Salai Maung Taing San -- a leading Christian politician often known as just Dr. Sasa -- said in an interview with the outlet that persecution is ramping up against Christians and members of the Chin ethnic group.

"They raped women. They torture our parents. They destroyed crosses," he described.

“If you are Chin and Christian… you don’t get education, you don’t get healthcare," he continued. "We are like second-class citizens.”

Dr. Sasa added that many attacks are not even tracked since churches are not officially registered in Myanmar.

“They destroy it… and there’s no record of that church,” he said.

Dr. Sasa was named a senior government official on Feb. 1, 2021 -- the day of the military coup.

"I looked outside the window around 5 am. I saw the armed forces. They had weapons, destroying our buildings and our streets. I wish it were a dream,” he recounted.

“I had to escape the valley of death, as I call it. Since then, almost 8,000 civilians have been killed by the military regime, and more than 22,000 political prisoners have been arrested, including Aung San Suu Kyi, our leader."

Dr. Sasa said there are now 5 million "homeless and displaced" people in his nation, while another 22 million "need lifesaving assistance."

He now serves in the National Unity Government, which operates in exile and is broadly considered the legitimate government of Myanmar, according to Premier Christian News.

Myanmar ranks 14th in the world with respect to persecution of Christians, according to Christian ministry Open Doors.

The persecution has indeed worsened since the coup.

"Many Christians have been caught in the crossfire, particularly in ethnic minority areas, with believers killed, churches bombed and villages destroyed," Open Doors said.

"Thousands have been displaced, and an earthquake in March killed more than 3,600 people and forced even more from their homes."

Fellow citizens of Myanmar also view Buddhism as crucial to their national identity, resulting in further difficulties for the Christian minority.

They are often forced to participate in Buddhist rituals, denied ID cards, refused access to basic services like water, and banned from sharing the gospel.

The unidentified male was suspended in February after he had posted flyers at the school in support of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reading, “We [heart] I.C.E. – Real Americans,” according to a Wednesday press release from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).

However, two weeks earlier, the school had allowed students participating in an anti-ICE mid-school day walkout to hold up posters with statements including, “If You’re an I.C.E. Agent Ya Mom’s a H*e!!,” “F*CK ICE,” and “ICE is KKK spelled differently.”

The school suspended the student over the flyers despite the fact they were posted in a common area where other political flyers had been posted previously. Still, the school claimed that the student engaged in “harassment” and “intimidation,” by posting the flyers.

“School administrators can’t pick and choose which opinions students are allowed to express,” said FIRE Supervising Senior Attorney Conor Fitzpatrick, via the Wednesday press release.

“Voicing an opinion which makes others upset is not ‘harassment’ or ‘intimidation,’ it is American democracy in action.”

The school agreed to wipe out the suspension after the student secured representation from FIRE.

Across the country, students have walked out of school to protest ICE, especially since Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers were involved in the fatal January shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis.

Other walkout protests have generated controversy or have turned violent.

At Enumclaw High School in Washington state, police confirmed that two arrests were made, with one student being charged with assault, obstruction and resisting arrest, while another was charged with obstruction, according to a Feb. 13 Facebook post.

During that walkout, some students targeted and assaulted independent journalists covering the event.

Shawnae Carlisle, who has taught at the district for 15 years, is a member of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association -- a small coalition of churches that marks Old Testament holidays, which Christian denominations have historically not done.

But Carlisle has been requesting these days off from work for years without issue -- until the district rejected her request for time off for the Feast of Tabernacles in October.

First Liberty, which represented Carlisle, said that district officials were "giving arbitrary and inconsistent reasons for why she could not attend the Feast of Tabernacles."

Carlisle took the days off anyway -- and was sanctioned as a result.

"Ms. Carlisle was unwilling to jeopardize her faith and continued to secure substitute coverage so she could observe her religious practice," First Liberty added.

"The school subsequently suspended her without pay for five days."

The legal nonprofit announced on March 24 that Salem City School District had agreed to grant her accommodation, which permits her to "take unpaid time off to observe various religious holy days in accordance with her faith."

The organization had previously sent the district a demand letter asking that they reverse course.

“We are grateful that after receiving our letter about Ms. Carlisle’s religious liberty rights, the Salem City School District reversed its prior suspension of Ms. Carlisle for observing religious holy days and instead agreed to accommodate her religious observances going forward,” Cliff Martin, senior counsel at First Liberty, said in a statement.

After observing religious holy days for 14 years without incident, elementary school teacher Shawnae Carlisle was punished with a 5-day unpaid suspension. We stepped in, and the school reversed course! pic.twitter.com/16ExyV9jTs

— First Liberty Institute (@firstliberty_) March 26, 2026

“Salem City School District’s actions demonstrate how all school districts can and should respect their religious employees.”

Ashbrook Byrne Kresge Flowers LLC assisted with the legal defense of Carlisle.

Ben Flowers, an attorney at the firm, said that "both teaching and faith are important to Ms. Carlisle."

He expressed gratitude that the situation appears to have been resolved.

"No one should be forced to violate their religious beliefs in order to keep their job, and we are glad that with this new religious accommodation, she will not have to choose between the two.”

Garza, the progressive district attorney for Travis County, has been chasing a criminal conviction against Austin Police Officer Chance Bretches for nearly four years relating to a 2020 incident in which some protesters sustained injuries.

Now law firm O’Connell West, representing Bretches, is alleging that Garza held “secret meetings” with officials to pressure the city of Austin into accepting responsibility in the incident -- without informing the parties involved. According to the firm, the DA only filed new charges against Bretches after failing to secure an indictment against the city.

The Austin Police Department issued expired bean bag ammunition amid Black Lives Matter protests in Austin following the death of George Floyd, according to court documents released by O’Connell West. The use of those rounds allegedly caused “severe injury” to at least one individual, leading to responding officer Chance Bretches’ indictment alongside 18 other involved officers.

Bretches was initially charged with two counts of aggravated assault in May 2022 and re-indicted for two counts of aggravated assault, deadly conduct, and assault in March 2024.

Bretches’ attorneys alleged that Garza met with city officials in 2023 to negotiate an indictment against the city of Austin in exchange for dropping charges against Bretches.

Crucially, the firm claimed that Garza’s office never informed the defense of these meetings and certified to the court that all information had been exchanged between the parties. As a result, O’Connell West claimed there is “probable cause” to believe that several members of Garza’s office tampered with evidence.

Garza’s office did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

Attorney Doug O’Connell told the DCNF the issue that the firm is raising in the case is that Garza’s office “knew the police department was criminally responsible for the expired, hardened bean bag shotgun” issued to officers.

“The elected DA here in Travis County, Texas ran on a platform of targeting and prosecuting police officers,” O’Connell stated. “He is a George Soros-funded official who takes orders from the Wren Collective.”

Garza was elected as the Travis County DA during the 2020 election cycle and took office in January 2021, shortly indicting 19 police officers for their actions during the May 2020 protests.

The prosecutor reported over $548,000 in political contributions between Feb. 23 and July 4, 2020, much of which came from the Texas branch of Soros’ national Justice & Public Safety PAC.

Soros is the committee’s top backer, contributing $3,480,863 in 2020 -- including $652,000 between March 11 and May 29, the window of time during which political action committees were required to file contribution reports in the state of Texas during the 2020 election season.

The prosecutor’s office also entered a non-disclosure agreement with The Wren Collective in 2022, according to the 2025 report “Outsourcing Justice” produced by the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund.

The report said that the agreement was signed by Wren Collective founder Jessica Brand and Travis County’s First Assistant District Attorney Trudy Strassburger.

The Wren Collective has worked to support 40 progressive prosecutors through pro-bono “communications” work since 2022. According to its website, the organization “works to transform America’s approach to public safety, expose the weaponization of the legal system, and ensure every person has the chance to participate in civic society.”

The Wren Collective is fiscally supported by Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs, a leftist organization sponsor that received over $6 million from Soros’ Open Society Foundations between 2020 and 2023.

When reached for comment, the Open Society Foundations said that the organization “has not provided any financial support to the Wren Collective,” adding, “They are not a grantee.”

SEE and The Wren Collective did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

The Austin Police Retired Officers Association and the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas called for Garza’s resignation following O’Connell West’s accusations.

Executive director of CLEAT Robert Leonard wrote, “If DA Garza has any shred of integrity left, he will resign immediately.”

Leonard told the DCNF that Garza “made it abundantly clear” during his campaign that he would use the office to target police officers.

“I think DA Garza made it abundantly clear when he ran for office that his promise to his constituency -- the people that supported him, including the Soros foundation that financially backed his campaign -- was that he was going to go after police officers, he was going to go after law enforcement, and that he was going to do whatever he had to fulfill that campaign promise,” he said.

APROA President Dennis Farris posted the statement to X, writing that Garza’s “habitual misconduct” and “lack of prosecutorial experience puts our entire community at risk.”

Farris told the DCNF he believed Garza did “the right thing” by not prosecuting the officers who shot and killed a terrorist after the early March 2026 attack in Austin.

“If he can look at this shooting and see that it’s clearly justified, he should be able to look at every other police shooting and do the same thing,” he said, “because there was no more investigation into this police shooting in two days than there is in any other one.”

Strassburger sent an email with the subject line “Looking for Civil Rights Prosecutor” shortly after Garza took office searching for candidates “looking to prosecute police officers,” which Farris says “should tell you everything.”

“This was the straw that broke the camel’s back. It’s the totality of everything if you go back and look at everything, the missteps this office has made in the last five years, and the fact that this community is not safe because of those missteps,” Farris said.

“We gotta do something before it goes so far that it can’t be fixed.”

Thousands of protesters descended upon Washington, D.C. as part of the nationwide “No Kings Day” demonstrations against President Donald Trump and his administration, particularly Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Jennings asserted on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he observed flags supporting communism and terrorist organizations, and argued the protests accurately represented the Democratic Party’s coalition.

“These No Kings rallies actually look pretty representative to me of the Democratic coalition,” Jennings said.

“I saw people flying the hammer and sickle in New York City. I saw Hezbollah flags. I saw Hamas flags. I saw Palestinian flags. I saw trans signs. I see weirdo liberal boomers out there.”

“This is pretty representative of the Democratic coalition. And that’s who funds it as well, by the way,” he continued. “And so I think if America looks at this and says, ‘What do the two parties stand for?’ they got it at the No Kings rallies.”

Several No Kings protesters chanted anti-police slogans Saturday as uniformed officers could be seen ushering their march through the streets of Washington D.C., video footage by the Daily Caller News Foundation shows.

They chanted multiple times in support of defunding or even abolishing the police — despite officers simultaneously safeguarding them.

“I said take it to the streets, abolish the police,” a male demonstrator leading a chant screamed as multiple on-duty law enforcement officers walked with them, footage by DCNF investigative reporter Hudson Crozier shows.

Another photo of the No Kings protests obtained by the DCNF shows demonstrators donning hats and flags featuring the hammer and sickle.

While the No Kings website purports to oppose authoritarian rule in the U.S., its official partners consist of multiple organizations that have shown support for brutal communist dictatorships abroad.