Posts on Tuesday, April 14, 2026
Iran’s radical Muslim President Masoud Pezeshkian has rushed to praise and defend Pope Leo XIV after the Chicago-born pontiff launched yet another attack on President Donald Trump for standing up to the bloodthirsty Iranian regime.
As The Gateway Pundit reported, Trump delivered a blistering takedown of Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pontiff, slamming the Vatican leader as weak on crime, disastrous on foreign policy, and far too cozy with the radical left.
Trump also noted that he recently hosted the Pope’s brother, Louis, at the White House, a man who actually understands the MAGA movement.
When asked by the Associated Press about Trump’s post, Pope Leo XIV refused to back down.
Iran: A Longer View
replies
The prognosis of the Iran War is now so couched in politics and so warped by the American Left that the public has grown tired and wants it all to go away. But in truth, the situation is so fluid that any accurate prediction is impossible. Yet there is good reason to believe in an eventual outcome quite favorable to the U.S. and one far better than the status quo ante bellum.
The Strait of Hormuz
Prior to President Trump’s most recent announcement that the United States would first blockade and then reopen and control traffic through the Strait, only a few ships were going through,
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and President Donald Trump do not have a happy history, but Trump is urging congressional Republicans to extend one part of the law Trump says was not the one misused during the Russiagate hoax.
Trump made a public plea on Truth Social to extend Section 702 of FISA.
As noted by Politico, Trump followed that up by calling Republicans opposed to extending the law that allows warrantless wiretaps of non-U.S. citizens for the next 18 months to the White House.
“I am asking Republicans to UNIFY, and vote together on the test vote to bring a clean Bill to the floor.
California governor Gavin Newsom made a bold pledge as he campaigned for his first term in 2017: He would release his tax returns to the public every year he serves in office, a move the Democrat described as the "moral duty" of "leaders seeking the highest offices." Now, with less than a year remaining in his second term and a looming 2028 presidential campaign on the horizon, Newsom's last five tax returns are nowhere to be seen.
Newsom said in 2019 that disclosing his returns would deter allegations of "conflicts of interest, self-dealing, or influence from domestic or foreign business interests." News outlets like the Sacramento Bee praised the governor for
Iran's regime -- not to be confused with its tormented people, many of whom have sacrificing their lives since 1999 trying to oust it -- has, since its installation in 1979, threatened "Death to America" ("the Great Satan") and "Death to Israel" ("the Little Satan").
For 39 years running, Iran has boasted the prestigious label, conferred on it by the US State Department, of the "world's leading state sponsor of terrorism." Iran, along with Qatar, is reportedly a principal financier of international Islamic terrorism as well as a leading agent of global destabilization.
Georgia lawmaker wants Fani Willis to
answer questions about $2 million grant
from Biden DOJ replies
answer questions about $2 million grant
from Biden DOJ replies
key Georgia lawmaker said he is eager to investigate a no-bid grant awarded to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ office by the Biden Justice Department given to her while she probed President Donald Trump for alleged violations of Georgia state laws.
In February, Just the News reported that Willis, who vowed from the earliest days of her term to pursue an investigation into President Trump for his efforts to challenge the 2020 election results in the state, was "invited" by the Justice Department to apply for a lucrative sole-source grant in 2022.
The FBI said Monday night that it is "closely" reviewing newly declassified memos showing the intelligence community kept secret for years evidence raising questions about the credibility and bias of the main accuser in President Donald Trump's 2019 impeachment case.
"The declassified impeachment memos show the so-called whistleblower behind the 2019 impeachment singled out Director Patel by name, relied on hearsay, submitted false claims, and had documented political bias — all of which was hidden from the American people," FBI spokesman Ben Williamson wrote on his X account.
Georgia Official Charged With COVID-19
Fraud Runs for State Senate, While 2 Others
Plead Guilty replies
Fraud Runs for State Senate, While 2 Others
Plead Guilty replies
A suspended member of the Georgia House of Representatives announced she will run for the state Senate despite being charged by the U.S. Department of Justice with COVID-19 unemployment fraud, while two of her former colleagues have already pleaded guilty to similar offenses.Former state Reps. Dexter L. Sharper and Karen L. Bennett, along with state Rep. Sharon Henderson, D-Covington, were accused in recent months of lying on unemployment applications to collect tens of thousands of dollars in federally funded pandemic benefits.
“These charges point to some disgraceful conduct at the highest level, which should shock and repulse every citizen,” Georgia State Inspector General Nigel Lange said in a Jan. 30 statement.
On Monday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Special Report,” Vice President JD Vance said that there is “no flexibility” on the need to remove Iran’s enriched uranium, and “That doesn’t matter, of course, because they have access to that material now. That material was actually buried underground by Operation Midnight Hammer. But if you think about this over the long haul, the president doesn’t want to leave the next president or the president after that to be worrying about this program, and so, we would like to get that material out of the country completely so that the United States has control of it.”
IBM Pays $17 Million To Settle DOJ DEI
Allegations: Executive Bonuses Tied To
Demographic Targets replies
Allegations: Executive Bonuses Tied To
Demographic Targets replies
International Business Machines (IBM) agreed to pay more than $17 million to resolve federal allegations related to its diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, including claims that executive compensation was tied to demographic targets. The company’s chief executive, Arvind Krishna, who was born in India, has been a central figure in shaping the company’s diversity strategy. Numerous English-language Indian media outlets have reported that Krishna maintained legal status in the United States on an H-1B visa at some point early in his career. His professional background includes doctoral studies in electrical engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, completed in 1991, and a start at IBM in December 1990,
Oil blockade would strip cash-strapped
Iran of significant revenue stream amid
economic crisis replies
Iran of significant revenue stream amid
economic crisis replies
By blocking Iranian exports in retaliation for the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the Trump administration is poised to strip the cash-strapped regime in Tehran of one of its last streams of revenue.
President Donald Trump ordered the blockade to begin on Monday after negotiations in Pakistan between U.S. and Iranian officials ended in a stalemate. In those negotiations, Iranian officials steadfastly refused to drop their demand for a new role in governing the vital waterway. Iran, which has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz since the beginning of the conflict with the U.S. earlier this year, has exploited its position there to continue —
The White House on Tuesday posted on X that 51 million seniors are now paying “NO TAX ON SOCIAL SECURITY” thanks to the Working Families Tax Cuts signed by President Donald Trump.
The post stated: “GOLDEN AGE FOR YOUR GOLDEN YEARS. The Working Families Tax Cuts have allowed 51 million seniors to keep more of their money by paying NO TAX ON SOCIAL SECURITY.” This message continues the administration’s emphasis on tax relief measures, including no tax on tips and no tax on overtime.
The White House has repeatedly promoted these provisions as delivering significant savings to working families and retirees during the current tax filing season.
The tax changes stem from
If you were to celebrate the Tucson Pride Festival this past February, you were out of luck. Organizers of Tucson Pride had to dissolve their organization and cancel the annual festival, which for some reason wasn’t held during national Pride Month, which is in June. On a Facebook post, the organizers told their followers that, “This decision was not made lightly…We recognize the deep importance Tucson Pride has held in our community since 1977, serving as a space of visibility, advocacy, celebration, and resilience for nearly five decades.”
Ahead of a consequential vote on extending the government’s authority to conduct overseas espionage, several House conservatives are expressing their concerns.
On April 20, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which enables the government to spy on foreigners, is set to expire.
Many House Republicans and President Donald Trump have argued in the past that this power is easily abused, resulting in the inadvertent surveillance of American citizens.
Last month, when my work took me to India, I learned a surprising lesson: On green energy, the “developing world” is light-years ahead of New York.
And the current crisis at the Strait of Hormuz, where a fossil-fuel chokepoint has sent New Yorkers’ costs soaring, puts the Empire State’s energy airball in sharp focus.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has tacitly acknowledged Albany’s failure to grapple with the practical realities of its insistence on the need to wholly transition the state’s economy from fossil fuels to renewables.
Now she’s trying a new strategy: Memory-holing New York’s flagship 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.
Ford CEO Jim Farley warns Chinese cars
sales in US would be ‘devastating’
to domestic automakers replies
sales in US would be ‘devastating’
to domestic automakers replies
Ford CEO Jim Farley said Chinese automakers should not be allowed to sell their vehicles in the US – warning the competition would decimate domestic car brands.
In his gravest warning yet, the exec argued that the US should maintain its current tariffs of 100% on Chinese carmakers, effectively blocking their vehicles from American roads.
“We should not let them into our country,” Farley said during a Monday appearance on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.” “Manufacturing is the heart and soul of our country and for us to lose that to those exports would be devastating to our country.”
Affordable, high-tech cars from Chinese brands like BYD and Xiaomi have been racing
Democrats Go Full Anti-Semite
replies
Gavin Newsom bets antisemitism is the Democratic Party’s future" from the New York Post sums up the entire theme of this article. "Gavin Newsom endorsed the lie Tuesday that Israel is an 'apartheid' state — a damning sign of where the Democratic Party is headed, and how far it’s already sunk."
If Newsom doesn't know that Christian and Muslim Israeli citizens can vote and be elected to the Knesset, and that Israel's laws protect all of its citizens equally, he is incompetent.
"All Israelis are treated equally under the law, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, religion or ethnicity."
House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday indicated that he expected the House would determine that Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., should be removed from Congress.
“I do think certainly on Cherfilus-McCormick, the Ethics Committee has gone through all of its processes, and they found some alarming facts," he said on Tuesday. "I think the facts are indisputable at this point, and so I believe it’ll be the consensus of this body that she should be expelled. I mean, that certainly rises to the level that’s needed.”
As far as showdowns between popes and secular leaders go, President Donald Trump versus Pope Leo XIV hardly rates.
Leo hasn’t forced Trump to come see him and stand for three days in the snow, the way Pope Gregory VII did to Henry IV, the Holy Roman Emperor, in 1077.
Nor has he issued an interdict, a tactic favored by Pope Innocent III, against the United States,
On the other hand, Trump hasn’t sacked Rome and forced the pope to submit to his will, in a repeat of Emperor Charles V’s 16th century gambit against Pope Clement VII.
It’s still been a remarkably testy exchange between Leo and Trump over the Iran war.
House Democrats have introduced new legislation to create a commission to evaluate whether President Trump should be removed from office under the 25th Amendment.
The proposal, led by New York Congressman Jamie Raskin, would establish a 17-member panel to assess whether the president is fit to carry out his duties.
The effort comes despite Republicans controlling Congress and the president retaining veto power, making the measure almost certain to fail.
More than 85 Democrats in Congress recently called for Trump to be impeached or removed through the 25th Amendment following comments he made about bombing Iran.
The Justice Department moved Tuesday to vacate the seditious conspiracy convictions of former Proud Boys leaders who led hundreds of supporters to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
In a consolidated appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the DOJ asked judges to wipe out the convictions of former Proud Boys leaders Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola and send the case back to the trial court so prosecutors can formally move to dismiss the indictment with prejudice. Federal prosecutors argued that vacating the convictions would allow the DOJ to exercise its discretion and end the case entirely under
There have been some panicky recent reports emanating from Russian sources about a new Ukrainian drone. The Russians call them "Martians" and the seem to be a significant upgrade over the drones that Russian forces have become used to dealing with.
Sergei ‘Zergulio’ Kolyasnikov, military correspondent for pro-Putin newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, warned of a “qualitative change at the front”.
He admitted: “Ukraine has introduced a new generation [of drones], which is creating serious logistics challenges.”...
He added: “From what we currently know, these drones operate day and night, and are inaudible — except in the final seconds, when they dive….
“They are undetectable
A police dog named “Pub” helped two federal agents sniff out two massive cash seizures amounting to nearly $75,000 in undeclared cash in the first quarter of 2026.
Pub, a Belgian Malinois trained to find currency and firearms, alerted Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents to a hidden stash of $44,432 in February and another pile worth $30,417 in March.
The Belgian Malinois found 20 percent of the total undeclared cash discovered at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in the first quarter of the year. The larger sum was bound for Qatar, while the second was due for El Salvador.
Agents reportedly said they gave the suspects with undeclared cash “multiple opportunities” to confess before
After independent journalist Nick Shirley sparked a national news cycle in January over alleged state-administered fraud, California lawmakers have moved to restrict the activities of independent journalists who question government spending, according to state officials.
In an exclusive interview with The Daily Signal, California state Assemblyman David Tangipa said the California Legislature is advancing what he described as “unconstitutional legislation” that would limit the release of video recordings by independent journalists who investigate taxpayer-funded programs.
Assembly Bill 2624 was introduced in February by California state Assemblywoman Mia Bonta following the viral success of a Shirley video questioning potential health care and day care fraud.
A group of Catholic nuns is battling the state of New York, which wants to take an LGBT hammer to a home that has cared for terminal cancer patients for almost 125 years.
The Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne operate the 42-bed Rosary Hill Home, which cares for terminally ill people without charging them anything, according to EWTN.
But the sisters have broken the state commandment that declares pronouns are more important than prayer and that gender identity should determine who is a man or woman, not God-given biology. State officials have said the nuns broke the rules by “refusing to assign a room to a resident other than
On Ruben Gallego, We Told You So
replies
Arizona senator Ruben Gallego (D.) is in the news—and here's what you need to know: The aspiring 2028 presidential candidate is either deaf, dumb, and blind or a degenerate liar. There's really no other possible explanation for his supporting role in the saga of Eric Swalwell (D., Calif.).
Gallego was Swalwell's Capitol Hill roommate and longtime wingman. With Swalwell dropping his bid for governor of California and resigning his seat in Congress in the face of numerous accusations of sexual assault and sexual harassment—plus a video depicting him rolling around on a bed in Las Vegas with an escort—some people are quite reasonably wondering: What did Gallego know and when
Ruben Gallego may have been in a tight Senate race in the fall of 2024, but the media didn't seem interested in the bizarre circumstances of his 2017 divorce. The Washington Free Beacon, however, was. The Free Beacon was locked in a 10-month, ultimately victorious legal battle with Gallego and his ex-wife to unseal their divorce records. They provide a prism through which to understand his longstanding relationship with California Democrat Eric Swalwell and the questions he is facing in the wake of mounting accusations against his friend and former roommate.
On Dec. 15, 2016, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D., Ariz.) filed for divorce from his wife,
Massachusetts lawmakers are advancing legislation that would require the state to reduce the total number of miles residents drive, part of an effort tied to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The proposal, Senate Bill S.2246, does not set a specific limit on how far individuals can drive but directs the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to establish binding goals aimed at lowering statewide vehicle miles traveled.
The bill also calls for the creation of a new government council focused on increasing public transit usage.
According to a Boston-area report, the measure would have a broad impact on how transportation is managed in the state.
Happy Tuesday, dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends. (Snip) Another day, another low-life, prevaricating California Democrat. Sadly, there will never be a shortage of them. There were already a lot of them when I first moved to Los Angeles in the '90s, but they started growing like weeds during the 21st century. The presidency of His High Holiness the Lightbringer Barack Obama worked like high-powered fertilizer for those weeds.
Before we get to the dirtbag who is our focus today, an update on the predatory pathological liar who has been dominating the news for the last several days is in order. This is from Catherine:
One of the most corrupt, mendacious,
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger has signed a bill to circumvent the electoral college and have Virginia become a member of a compact between states that are looking to give their Electoral College votes to the presidential candidate that wins the popular vote instead of the candidate that voters from the state choose. Spanberger signed HB965 into law, which would effectively null and void votes cast in Virginia itself and only give its Electoral College votes to the nationwide popular vote winner. The compact between the states, however, will not go into effect until there are enough states in the compact to reach 270 electoral votes.
WASHINGTON — Lebanon and Israel held their first direct diplomatic talks in decades on Tuesday in Washington following more than a month of war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group, with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling it a “historic opportunity” but making clear that no breakthrough agreement would happen right away.
In a statement after the two-hour session ended, the State Department praised the two sides for what it called “productive discussions on steps toward launching direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon.” Hezbollah opposed the direct talks and was not represented, appearing to step up its fire on northern Israel as the discussions began.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron is facing renewed criticism for his lack of support for President Donald Trump’s war against Iran and demands to include Lebanon in the current ceasefire as historic talks between Israel and Lebanon are set to begin Tuesday.
The historic meeting brokered by President Trump between Lebanon, a former French mandate, and Israel will take place at the ambassador level as hopes for an agreement evolve — most noticeably without French involvement. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to host both nations' ambassadors.
The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel’s government requested that France be excluded
Late last year, I warned about the staggering amount of unrestrained scientific fraud being published via paper mills and sham journals. This trend is especially troubling, as adherence to scientific theory and rigorous, reproducible research allows humanity to make progress in critical fields. If we can no longer trust the data, our ability to make improvements and innovations will be severely compromised. Back in 2024, researchers created a fake eye disease called “bixonimania” to see whether AI chatbots would repeat it as if it were real. Within weeks, major chatbots started describing bixonimania as a real diagnosis
The European Union has placed a huge bet on Iran coming out on top in its war with the United States and Israel.
In all but name, the big countries in Europe have chosen Iran, and to a great extent China, as their preferred winners. They have spoken about closer relations with China, barred the US from using bases and even airspace, and are now siding with Iran in its negotiations with the United States, particularly in its demand that Hezbollah be left alone.
The thing is, aside from perhaps Turkey and Iran, no country in the Middle East is happy with their choices.
Trump Ensuring All the Strategic Sea Lines
of Communications Are Controlled by United States replies
of Communications Are Controlled by United States replies
It has amazed me how incredibly stupid Trump's critics have been.
This is especially true when it comes to understanding Trump's foreign policy strategy, which is not that difficult to understand if you get past your obsession with wanting to be liked by the Very Best People™ in the transnationalist camp.
There is so much wrong with how the media, the diplomatic types, and the NATO-obsessed analyze Trump's America-first approach. They see in it an irrational xenophobia or a misguided "Fortress America" attitude, when in fact Trump is pursuing a policy of reestablishing
The Department of Justice launched a corrupt campaign to weaponize its prosecutorial power against its political opponents. According to a new internal investigation, the Attorney General partnered with political organizations to deny dissenters their civil rights, cooked up criminal cases out of whole cloth, and used federal law enforcement to terrorize their opponents and shut down protests and dissent.
So when do we see action against Donald Trump and Pam Bondi? Hold up there, pardner. This took place in Joe Biden's administration under the direction of Merrick Garland, and the targets were pro-life activists. Biden and Garland used the FACE Act to punish pro-life activists
Boasberg Slapped Down
replies
One of the extraordinary features of the first year of President Trump’s second term has been the attempted judicial coup by Democratic Party district court judges who have, in effect, tried to take over the operation of the Executive Branch. Rogue district judges have issued one ill-founded order after another, most of which have been reversed on appeal. Perhaps the worst offender has been James Boasberg, Chief Judge of the D.C. District Court.
Judge Boasberg has been trying to hold members of the Trump administration in criminal contempt for, allegedly, disobeying one of his illegal orders. The government made a mandamus motion in the D.C. Circuit
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Another woman has come forward to accuse Congressman Eric Swalwell of sexual assault, giving a powerful and emotional account Tuesday morning.
At a press conference in Beverly Hills, Lonna Drewes told a harrowing story of allegedly being drugged, raped and choked by the soon-to-be former congressman in 2018. Swalwell, who pulled out of the governor's race and will resign his seat, is facing a mounting list of accusers and mounting legal trouble as well.
These details may be disturbing to read.
Drewes says she was a model and owned a fashion software company when she met Congressman Eric Swalwell in 2018.
She says they went out as friends several times
Iran demands compensation from Gulf states
after accusing them of role in US-Israeli strikes replies
after accusing them of role in US-Israeli strikes replies
Iran is demanding compensation from Gulf states it has attacked repeatedly after accusing them of complicity in the US and Israel strikes that began on February 28.
In the letter to the UN Security Council, seen by The National on Monday, Tehran claimed Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Jordan allowed their territories to be used for attacks on Iran after the US and Israel launched strikes. Iran called that a “flagrant act of aggression” in breach of international law and the UN Charter. “By their internationally wrongful acts, they have breached their international obligations owed to the Islamic Republic of Iran under international law,
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has hailed the establishment of a “major defence cooperation partnership” with Indonesia, saying it underscores the “strength and potential” of ties with Jakarta to maintain stability in the Asia Pacific region.
Hegseth hosted Indonesian Minister of Defence Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin at the Pentagon on Monday, where the deal was signed. “This [partnership] signifies the strength and potential of our security relationship… bolsters regional deterrence, and advances our shared commitment to peace through strength,” Hegeseth said, according to a Defense Department statement.
The US defence secretary also said Washington and Jakarta’s security relationship was “active and growing”, noting that both countries’
What is worse: murder or alleged racism? The New York Times knows. A headline in the paper’s April 11 print edition read: “Trump Posts Attack Video and Denigrates Haitians.” The online version of the article was only slightly more detailed: “Trump Shares Video of Graphic Attack and Rails Against Haitians.”
What was this “attack video” or, even more puzzlingly, this “graphic attack?” On April 3, a surveillance camera at a gas station convenience store in Fort Myers, Florida, filmed a burly man methodically bashing in the windows and hood of a parked car with a hammer. The audio captures the blows’ explosive force.
Staggering 8-figure sum NYC taxpayers
will pay to fund Mamdani’s first city-owned
grocery revealed replies
will pay to fund Mamdani’s first city-owned
grocery revealed replies
Zo’s cheap groceries will cost taxpayers a pretty penny.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s first-unveiled city-owned grocery store will cost a staggering $30 million to build from the ground up at East Harlem’s longstanding La Marqueta, officials confirmed – as local grocers worried it’d gobble up their business.
The new grocery at the longstanding city-owned La Marqueta marketplace will run with a yet-to-be-picked operator reaping the benefits of a rent- and tax-free deal, City Hall officials told The Post on Monday. Mamdani envisions that the low-cost deal — which he anounced during a Sunday celebration of his first 100 days in office -–
Former President Joe Biden reportedly wanted Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to be his vice president but "had to choose" former Vice President Kamala Harris. An Atlantic article profiled the Democratic governor and potential 2028 presidential candidate on Sunday and reported how Biden considered Whitmer to be his running mate in 2020, particularly after her pushback against President Donald Trump. (Snip) The report said a former senior staffer for Whitmer said, "The moment called for a Black running mate," and how Biden really wanted the Michigan governor instead. According to the Atlantic, a former adviser to both Biden and Harris said
Miguel Díaz-Canel, the figurehead “President” of Cuba, claimed to NBC that any military attempt from the United States to depose him would be met by Cubans willing to die for the communist regime that has oppressed them for 67 years. Díaz-Canel issued the claim speaking with NBC News’s “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker in Havana. NBC published the full, roughly 53-minute interview on Sunday days after releasing a five minute-long snippet in which the figurehead claimed he will not step down from his position at a time when U.S. officials and members of the Cuban communist regime have engaged in talks.
The Iranian regime executed more than 1,600 people last year — marking a three decade high not seen since the end of the Islamic Republic’s war against Iraq in 1989.
The shocking figures were included in a joint report released by the nonprofit Iran Human Rights and Together Against the Death Penalty, which estimated that in 2025 at least four people were put to death each day in Iran.
In total, at least 1,639 were executed in Iran last year, the highest reported number since the post-war bloodbath in 1989, where an estimated 1,700 political prisoners were executed, according to the report.
France Doubles Down on Taxes
replies
France is reducing its enormous budget deficit in the current fiscal year. However, the price for this minimal relief is high: only massive tax hikes can still slow the debt spiral.
On both sides of the Franco-German border, the same problem persists: overburdened and reform-averse politicians struggle against a rapidly accelerating debt spiral. Their preferred tool: higher levies.
Last week, France’s Finance Minister Roland Lescure reported a revision of the projected budget deficit for the current year. Initial estimates for 2026 had suggested a deficit well above five percent. Yet numerous fiscal measures brought last year’s deficit down to 5.1%. For 2026,
We claim Nothing but the Liberty & Privileges of Englishmen, in the same Degree, as if we had still continued among our Brethren in Great Britain: these Rights have not been forfeited by any Act of ours, we can not be deprived of them, without our Consent, but by Violence & Injustice; We have received them from our Ancestors, and, with God’s Leave, we will transmit them, unimpaired to our Posterity. Can those, who have hitherto acted as our Friends, endeavour now, insidiously, to draw from Us Concessions destructive to what we hold far dearer than Life!
The Iranian regime on Monday denied charging a “toll” to Indian ships for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, following President Donald Trump’s threat to prevent any ship that paid ransom to Iran from using the strait. You can ask the Indian government if we have charged anything up to now,” Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Fathali insisted at a press conference from the Iranian embassy in New Delhi. In this difficult time, we have good relations. We believe Iran and India share common interests and a common fate,” he said.
Fathali said Iran is keeping in “close communication” with India, with an eye toward ensuring the safety of Indian vessels,
Just a few weeks ago, Rep. Eric Swalwell was said to be leading a crowded pack of Democrats trying to win the nomination for California’s governor. Then, in the blink of an eye, his party abandoned him.
The alleged reason is evidence of sexual misconduct. In reality, Swalwell fell victim to the Democratic Party’s unquenchable lust for power and California’s bizarre jungle primary.
On Friday, the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN both ran stories about women accusing him of sexual misconduct. Within hours, Democrats were taking their endorsements back and calling on him to drop out of the race. By Sunday, he’d suspended his campaign.
Most Americans Say They Face ‘Higher
Taxes’ This Year, Call Tax Code ‘Unfair’:
I&I/TIPP Poll replies
Taxes’ This Year, Call Tax Code ‘Unfair’:
I&I/TIPP Poll replies
‘April is the cruellest month,” T.S. Eliot wrote in his epic poem “The Waste Land.” This year, it seems many American taxpayers might be inclined to agree with the venerable poet. More people than not say they will be paying more in taxes this year, not less, and call the federal tax code unfair, the latest I&I/TIPP Poll shows.
In its monthly national online poll, I&I/TIPP asked 1,464 adults about their taxes. The poll, taken from March 31 to April 2, has a margin of error of +/-2.7 percentage points.
The first question: “Compared to last year, do you feel your federal taxes are …”,
Western media remain utterly incoherent ahead of Tuesday’s Israeli-Lebanese talks in Washington because their Israel Derangement Syndrome renders them unable to acknowledge basic facts.
For starters, the Jewish state is not at war with Lebanon, but with Hezbollah, the terror group that occupies the country’s south and until recently had the government bullied into complete submission.
It’s a war Hezbollah started — most recently, ending a cease-fire by launching missiles at Israel in revenge for Jerusalem’s assaults on Iran in conjunction with Operation Epic Fury.
Israel is in the process of evicting Hezbollah from Lebanon south of the Litani River — as per the accords that ended the 2006 war,
President Trump explained Monday that he deleted an AI-generated image that appeared to depict him as Jesus Christ because of the “confusion” the social media post caused — and took a jab at conservative activist Riley Gaines.
“Normally I don’t like doing that,” Trump told CBS News, when asked why he deleted the Truth Social post, “but I didn’t want to have anybody be confused.”
“People were confused,” the president said.
Earlier Monday, Trump told reporters he thought the image of himself — clad in billowy white and red robes —
The Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East is hardly the only waterway on President Donald Trump’s mind at the moment. While Trump and the international media may be talking about the Strait of Hormuz nonstop, the broader questions about other sea lanes and shipping waterways have very much dominated the geopolitical discussion worldwide upon Trump’s return to the White House and have been at the center of tensions between the U.S. and China, set for a worldwide primetime showdown when Trump visits Beijing in May. A top Greek government official is dishing on how Trump and his envoy to the Hellenic Republic have outmaneuvered Chinese President Xi Jinping —
The Georgia Court of Appeals has ruled that the Fulton County commissioners may reject Republican nominees to the county’s election board, finding the board appointments are “inherently discretionary.”
For years, the Democrat-controlled Fulton County Board of Commissioners has been fighting the local GOP over who gets to sit on the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections.
In May 2025, the commissioners rejected the Republican Party’s nominees, Julie Adams and Jason Frazier.
Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales, who was facing allegations of sexual misconduct with subordinates, announced his intention to resign on Monday.
“There is a season for everything and God has a plan for us all. When Congress returns tomorrow, I will file my retirement from office. It has been my privilege to serve the great people of Texas,” Gonzales, a Republican, wrote on X.
Gonzales’ announcement came an hour after Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., who has also been accused of sexual misconduct, announced he would resign from Congress. Swalwell fully denies the accusations.
Equally disturbing is the role of Al-Jazeera itself. Owned, funded, and controlled by the government of Qatar, Al-Jazeera, particularly its Arabic-language channel, has long provided a platform for Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood movement. Its coverage frequently echoes Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood narratives, and amplifies anti-Israel propaganda and antisemitic rhetoric.
Reports by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) have documented Al-Jazeera providing a platform for guests who assert that Jews are "enemies of Muslims and all humanity" or that they control global affairs.
Oil blockade would strip cash-strapped
Iran of significant revenue stream amid
economic crisis replies
Iran of significant revenue stream amid
economic crisis replies
By blocking Iranian exports in retaliation for the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the Trump administration is poised to strip the cash-strapped regime in Tehran of one of its last streams of revenue.
President Donald Trump ordered the blockade to begin on Monday after negotiations in Pakistan between U.S. and Iranian officials ended in a stalemate. In those negotiations, Iranian officials steadfastly refused to drop their demand for a new role in governing the vital waterway.
Iran, which has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz since the beginning of the conflict with the U.S. earlier this year,
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Monday declassified and released documents she says show that officials within the Intelligence Community mishandled and politicized a whistleblower complaint that ultimately led to President Donald Trump’s first impeachment in 2019.
According to Gabbard, the newly released records allege that what she described as “deep state actors” collaborated with then-House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to advance what she called a “false narrative” surrounding the whistleblower complaint.
Monday on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe,” former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Republicans needed to rein in President Donald Trump before he does “irreparable damage to our country.”
Clinton said, “I teach a course at Columbia University with the dean of the School of International Public Affairs. We’ve been on your program. And among the things we teach is behavior of of leaders. And there’s something called domain of loss, which means when a leader feels that he’s losing, he actually becomes more reckless.
popular early radio (1930–1954) crime-fighting program, “The Shadow,” began with a distinctive narrator’s voice uttering an iconic opening line, “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!”
In the aftermath of the arrest of a former US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) civilian employee, Courtney Williams, 40, for an act of betrayal against her country, we can only wonder what evil lurked within her heart.
To become a SOCOM contractor, Williams took an oath of secrecy for life. It was a condition she had to accept before being given access to a range of classified information. There was nothing complex about the arrangement.
20 years ago Colorado was a Red state and thriving," the State Leadership Initiative posted late last week. "10 years ago liberals were writing pieces about how Colorado was the next Silicon Valley." And now CBS News reports that "Colorado is losing businesses and jobs at an alarming rate."This was the hope, according to Denver-based 5280 magazine in 2020: "With another tech company setting up an office in Denver, the state could become a magnet for Silicon Valley firms and other prestigious businesses during the worst economic climate in nearly a century."
Instead of Silicon Mountain, Colorado is quickly becoming "an economic backwater,"
Alan Dershowitz: Trump could move to expunge
2019 impeachment after release of bombshell evidence replies
2019 impeachment after release of bombshell evidence replies
Famed Harvard law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz says he believes President Donald Trump could have grounds to expunge his 2019 impeachment in the House after bombshell new evidence revealed the intelligence community failed to disclose that his main accuser had the potential for bias, made a false statement and only had hearsay to back up his allegations.
Dershowitz, a Democrat at the time who worked to defend Trump at the impeachment trial that ended in the president's acquittal, said it would be "an interesting, novel approach" for Trump to go to Chief Justice John Roberts,
Donald Trump claims that the "right people" in Iran have reached out to cut a deal for real after imposing a naval blockade and cutting off Iran's income stream. Who are we talking with in Tehran? Mahdi al-Hall?
That's what Trump claimed in an ad-hoc press conference on the veranda of the Oval Office this afternoon. Trump didn't specify the identities of the "right people," but hinted that the blockade may have changed some minds over the last few hours: One can understand why some Iranian regime remnants may want to cut a deal with Trump that meets his demands. As Trump himself put it, "Iran is doing absolutely no business