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Blurb:

A Minnesota state employee who vandalized six Tesla vehicles last year, causing up to $21,000 in damage, received no jailtime and just a single-day suspension from his job, state records show.

Dylan Adams, an employee with the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS), was caught on Tesla security cameras keying the vehicles in March and early April 2025, amid a rash of anti-Tesla vandalism and firebomb attacks throughout the nation.

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Degala, Iraq — A rusted metal gate and a wind-torn flag mark the entrance to the Kurdistan Freedom Party’s base outside the northern Iraqi city of Erbil.

An anti-aircraft gun sits on the plateau behind the encampment, which consists of rows of cinder-block buildings that back onto scrubland hills.

A Kurdish fighter dressed in camo fatigues, scarf and running shoes, Ali Mahmoud Awara was nervous about being there, given the war next door in Iran.

“All of our bases have been targeted by the Iranians,” he said.

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The University of Oregon’s Health Services will reportedly begin dispensing dangerous abortion pills to students this year following persistent pro-abortion activism. Oregon Right to Life has condemned the efforts to get university providers to prescribe the drugs as “deeply irresponsible.”

The University of Oregon (UO) student news site The Daily Emerald reported Monday that the institution’s University Health Services (UHS) would begin prescribing the drugs to students in the fall semester after a coalition of student groups, including the Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA), reportedly gathered over 2,300 petition signatures and 200 survey responses.

Activists have lobbied for abortion pills on campus for years, with a 2024 effort failing to move forward.

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A male self-proclaimed transgender teacher who instructed kindergarteners at a U.S. military school in North Carolina — while wearing a false wolf tail — was recently dismissed from his position.

Liberty Counsel said in a letter to the Department of Defense Education Activity that the teacher, who oversaw pre-K and kindergarten children at Mildred B. Poole Elementary School, should be removed from the classroom, according to a report from CBN.

Parents reported “disturbing behavior” that scared their children as early as 2025.

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Oil prices surged past $110 a barrel on Sunday evening, topping $100 for the first time in nearly four years, as the war in the Middle East entered its ninth day with no end in sight and the Strait of Hormuz remained effectively closed to tanker traffic.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, briefly topped $110 soon after markets opened Sunday evening, while West Texas Intermediate rose to $109.05. Both benchmarks were trading around $60 a barrel in early January.

President Trump on Sunday night sought to reassure Americans that oil prices would come down in short order.

“Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace. ONLY FOOLS WOULD THINK DIFFERENTLY!” Trump said on Truth Social.

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A counter-protester lit what police said was an explosive device during a protest Saturday against Mayor Zohran Mamdani in New York City. The counter-protester also was caught on video uttering “Allahu Akbar” as police were arresting him.

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Sunday announced that the device was real — not a hoax device or smoke bomb, WNYW reported.

‘Based on preliminary examination and X-ray imaging, the devices, which were a bit smaller than a football, appear to be a jar wrapped in black tape, importantly, with nuts, bolts, and screws along with a hobby fuse that could be lit.’

“It is, in fact, an improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death,” Tisch said on X.

A second deployed device was still being analyzed Sunday.

Blurb:

A Michigan Democrat state representative has announced she won’t run for reelection because her Christian faith is incompatible with remaining in her party, particularly considering its stances on social issues.

“For me, it is impossible to be a faithful follower of Jesus Christ while remaining a member of the Democratic Party as it exists today. I cannot reconcile that platform with Scripture,” Rep. Karen Whitsett told a local news outlet on Monday.

“I will not be seeking reelection for this office, and I will not be running for any office ever again,” she added. “This is not a political calculation—it’s a spiritual decision.”

Whitsett told WDIV-TV Local 4 that she will remain civically engaged and support leaders across party lines who are committed to improving lives and strengthening families based on the Bible.

She mentioned specific social issues where she said the Democrat Party platform irreconcilably conflicts with the Bible’s teaching.

“That conviction includes the issues I cannot reconcile with Scripture: abortion, the normalization of the gay lifestyle, and the push to redefine gender,” Whitsett explained.

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Mexican cartels have begun avoiding direct attacks on Americans in Mexico because President Donald Trump has made clear that violent drug trafficking organizations now face the possibility of U.S. military action. Trump’s harder regional strategy raises the stakes for cartel violence against American citizens and businesses operating south of the border.

Trump’s intentions were driven home during his remarks at the Shield of the Americas summit in Doral, Fla., where he told regional leaders the United States won’t hesitate to use lethal military force against cartel operations if necessary, specifically stating that missiles and other military tools remain on the table if cartels continue threatening American lives and U.S. national security.

Trump encouraged regional leaders gathered at his Miami-area golf club to take military action against drug trafficking cartels and transnational gangs that he says pose an “unacceptable threat” to the hemisphere’s national security.

“The only way to defeat these enemies is by unleashing the power of our militaries,” Trump said. “We have to use our military. You have to use your military.” Citing the U.S.-led coalition that confronted the Islamic State group in the Middle East, the Republican president said that “we must now do the same thing to eradicate the cartels at home.”

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Since 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran has haunted the U.S. with its hostage-taking, support of terrorism around the globe, threats to acquire nuclear weapons and vaporize Israel, and attempts to assassinate Donald Trump.

Despite decades of presidential talking, the current commander in chief is the first one to really make a serious move to neutralize the threat posed by Iran, and Operation Epic Fury has wiped out virtually their entire leadership structure. The final outcome is as yet unknown, but I think it’s safe to say that “action has been taken.”

But there’s another country that’s bedeviled us even longer: the República de Cuba.

Sitting just 90 miles off our shores, the communist regime was birthed by the late dictator Fidel Castro in 1959 following a revolution, and it almost brought us a nuclear-infused World War 3 with the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. In 1980, meanwhile, Castro sent some of the Caribbean country’s most violent, depraved criminals to Florida in the Mariel Boatlift.

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The Israeli Air Force is relentlessly destroying the Islamic Republic’s critical and organizational infrastructure. Creating the conditions for the courageous Iranian people to overthrow the current murderous regime.

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President Donald Trump is refusing to rule out the possibility of deploying U.S. ground forces in Iran as the ongoing military operation against the regime enters its second week.

The question of ground troops comes amid ongoing airstrikes that have significantly degraded Iran’s military capabilities, though Tehran continues to launch retaliatory attacks. The conflict, dubbed Operation Epic Fury by the U.S. and Operation Lion’s Roar by Israel, began on February 28, 2026, with coordinated strikes aimed at destroying Iran’s military infrastructure and prompting regime change.

Administration officials have stated that Tehran continued to enrich uranium and threatened to build upwards of 11 nuclear weapons, which prompted the military action. President Trump has stated that completely eliminating Iran’s nuclear program is a stated goal of the operation.

While speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday, Trump was asked about the possibility of deploying ground troops as part of the operation. After emphasizing the success of current aerial operations, Trump did not rule out boots on the ground in the future. “I would say if we ever did that, they would be so decimated that they wouldn’t be able to fight at the ground level,” he said.

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“I’ve dealt with a lot when it comes to the LGBTQIA+ two-spirit, whatever the hell else you want to add in there, community. … But sometimes I watch a clip of this gang, and it shocks even me,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales says.

The clip Sara is referring to allegedly captures an incident from February at the California Democratic Party convention in San Francisco. The video went viral on social media earlier this month after journalist Andy Ngo published a detailed report.

In the clip, parental rights activist Beth Bourne questions a woman, who is reportedly the mother of a trans-identifying child, about medical interventions for minors. After a brief exchange where Bourne pressed the woman on topics like profits from gender-affirming surgeries on children and grotesque surgical procedures, the woman allegedly leaned in and whispered a death threat, “I’m gonna hunt you down and f**king kill you,” before walking away.

Blurb:

Earlier in the week, the Pentagon identified six service members who died in a drone strike by Iran over the weekend in Kuwait.

A US service member has died from injuries sustained during the Iranian regime’s attacks across the Middle East, CENTCOM reported Sunday. The service member was critically wounded on March 1 during an attack on US troops in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

This marks the seventh American killed in action during Operation Epic Fury.

Earlier in the week, the Pentagon identified six service members who died in a drone strike by Iran over the weekend in Kuwait. They were Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of Des Moines, Iowa; Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Waukee, Iowa; and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, California.

Blurb:

Federal authorities carried out raids on the homes of the two suspects accused of throwing explosive devices at a group of right-wing protesters and New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers on Saturday. The raids occurred after law enforcement officials uncovered what is believed to be a third explosive device on Sunday afternoon.

The raids targeted properties and in Langhorne and Newtown Townships, both in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where 18-year-old Emir Balat and 19-year-old Ibrahim Kayumi respectively reside. The two men — who told investigators they were inspired by ISIS — tossed a homemade nail bomb at a group of Christian protesters at an event organized by right-wing activist Jake Lang.

During these operations, investigators examined vehicles, electronics, and other items for evidence related to the construction and transportation of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), according to a report from ABC News. Family members were interviewed as part of the process, though no additional arrests were reported from the raids.

Blurb:

China said that Iran’s decision to name Mojtaba Khamenei as its new supreme leader following the killing of his father was a domestic matter, and it opposed any attempt to target him. The conflict has threatened global energy security and trade, as well as China’s oil supplies. An instability that the economic giant does not see fit to its interests, as FRANCE 24’s Yena Lee reports from Beijing.
from www.france24.com

Blurb:

President Donald Trump’s actions in Venezuela and Iran are the first time that any president has made any progress against China’s decades old effort to peacefully subvert the U.S.

It is no secret that China has two goals: to seize control of Taiwan and to become the lone global superpower by 2049, the centennial of the communist control over the country. China is our primary geopolitical rival, if not our mortal enemy.

Over the past few decades, China has successfully subverted the U.S. through globalization. The U.S. now depends on China for antibiotics, energy, technology hardware and vital rare earth minerals and their processing. China could shut off exports of these and other goods, and our economy, society and security would be crippled.

Yes, China would hurt itself by doing these things, but China is an iron-fisted totalitarian state where any social unrest would be much more easily (read brutally) addressed than in the U.S.

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They reportedly have had bad experiences acting as Washington’s proxy in past conflicts

Iraq’s Kurds are against joining the US attacks on Iran, and have voiced concerns about being left facing Iranian retaliation with no ground or air defense support, Axios reported on Saturday.

The CIA began working to arm Kurdish forces hostile to the Islamic Republic after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran last Saturday, according to CNN. While US President Donald Trump initially voiced support for Kurds getting involved in the conflict, he backpedaled on the idea on Saturday.

“The Kurds must not be the tip of the spear in this conflict,” Axios wrote, citing a senior official from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), a semi-autonomous region in northeastern Iraq.

Blurb:

… One in three people now believe the world will end within their lifetime, according to new research. The study shows apocalyptic beliefs are no longer confined to the fringes of society – and they’re shaping how people respond to global threats, say scientists.

Study lead author said Dr Matthew Billet said: “Belief in the end of the world is surprisingly common.” He added: “It’s significantly influencing how people interpret and respond to the most pressing threats facing humanity.”

The research team surveyed more than 3,400 people in the United States and Canada. In the American sample of 1,409 respondents, nearly a third said they believe the world will end within their lifetime.

Blurb:

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani has described Iran’s strikes on Gulf countries as a “dangerous miscalculation” – warning the escalation risks destabilising the region and sending shockwaves through the global economy.

Speaking to the media for the first time since Qatar has come under repeated missile and drone attacks, the prime minister told Sky News that the country had entered what he called “a very difficult period” – but praised the professionalism of its defence and security forces.

For a man who has mediated some of the world’s most complex crises, what stood out to me was how angry he was about Iran’s actions.

“It is a big sense of betrayal,” he told me. “Just an hour after the start of the war, Qatar and other Gulf countries have been attacked. We made clear that we were not going to take part in any wars against our neighbours.”

Blurb:

… Keir Starmer is expected to promise to protect the British public from the economic impact of the war after oil prices surged past $100 a barrel for the first time since 2022.

“No matter the headwinds, supporting working people and their families with the cost of living is always top of my mind,” the prime minister said ahead of a visit on Monday to a community centre in London.

Starmer added:

People are also rightly worrying what this means for life at home – their bills, their jobs, their communities.

I want to address those concerns head on. I will always be guided by what is best for the British public. And no matter the headwinds, supporting working people and their families with the cost of living is always top of my mind.

Blurb:

Vladimir Putin has congratulated the new Supreme Leader of Iran with a statement that risks infuriating Donald Trump. The Russian leader sent a congratulatory message to Iran’s Supreme Leader-elect Mojtaba Khamenei, reaffirming his continued support and solidarity with Tehran.

A statement posted on the Kremlin’s website on Monday read: “Please accept my sincere congratulations on your election as Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. At a time when Iran is confronting armed aggression, your tenure in this high position will undoubtedly require great courage and dedication. I am confident that you will honorably continue your father’s work and unite the Iranian people in the face of severe trials.” The statement, signed off by Putin himself, also reiterated Russia‘s “unwavering support” for Tehran and expressed solidarity with its “Iranian friends”. The leader confirmed that Russia has been and will remain a “reliable partner of the Islamic Republic”.

He has strong ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which pressured the Assembly of Experts to select him, Iran International reported.

Despite the connection to the military branch, he is not a high-ranking cleric and has never held an official role in the regime. He did, however, serve in the Iranian armed forces during the war with Israel.

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There is little doubt in Washington that AI is a powerful technology that will help determine which country rules the 21st century. Policymakers from the Hill to the White House have made U.S. AI leadership a priority and invested significant resources towards staying ahead of competitors. Yet the United States is at perhaps greater risk than ever before of losing the broader global technology competition.

Despite growing investment in AI, U.S. policymakers have failed to prepare for its convergence with biotechnology, a fusion that will define economic and national power in the coming decades. While competitors are building coordinated AI-bio ecosystems, the U.S. biodata (biological data) environment remains fragmented, underfunded, and insecure. Without a federally led effort to build AI-ready biodata as national infrastructure, the United States risks ceding leadership in both AI and biotechnology at a critical moment.

The Strategic Importance of the AI-Biotechnology Nexus

Compute, talent, and capital are necessary for AI-enabled biotechnology, but biodata is the binding constraint. Without large, representative, and interoperable biological datasets, AI models cannot generalize, scale, or translate into real-world impact.

Blurb:

BERLIN — Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s party has made a disappointing start to a year packed with German state elections, suffering a narrow defeat in an important industrial region after a prominent candidate powered the environmentalist Greens to a come-from-behind victory.

Merz’s center-right Christian Democratic Union was long confident of winning back the governor’s office in Baden-Württemberg, a region of more than 11 million people in southwestern Germany that is home to automakers Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, among many other companies. The country’s first and so far only Green governor, Winfried Kretschmann, is retiring after 15 years in charge of a traditional conservative heartland.

A CDU victory long looked likely despite the unpopularity of Merz’s 10-month-old federal government, which has struggled to get Germany’s stagnant economy moving. But the party’s poll lead shrank ahead of Sunday’s election thanks to a Green campaign focused on Cem Özdemir, a longtime federal lawmaker and former German agriculture minister.