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Venezuela’s opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said on Saturday she had “no regrets” about symbolically handing over her Nobel Peace Prize to US President Donald Trump in January.
“There is a leader in the world, a head of state in the world who risked the lives of his country’s citizens for Venezuela’s freedom,” she told a news conference in Madrid.
Machado presented her Nobel prize to Trump when she met him in the White House just two weeks after he ordered US forces to attack Caracas and snatch Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
Trump, who has long coveted the award, is currently embroiled in the Middle East war he started with his ally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with airstrikes on Iran at the end of February.
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While the left would like it if you believed millions of Americans are suffering as a result of losing their health insurance, that is not reality, according to RFK Jr.
Democrat Rep. Greg Casar asked if RFK has sat down and spoken with any of the people who have lost health coverage this year. According to RFK, however, “they are almost all illegal immigrants.” And if you are surprised by this, you are not paying attention.
It is also comical how Casar had no response to this claim, as the best excuse he got was that one person in his district lost health coverage.
According to the Budget Committee:
1.4 million of those estimated to be without health insurance in 2034 are illegal immigrants.
1.3 million of those estimated to be without health insurance in 2034 are already ineligible for the Medicaid program. The OBBBA ends Biden-era regulations that kept ineligible individuals enrolled—restoring integrity to the program.
CBO projects Medicaid enrollment in 2034 to be 79.5 million people under the OBBBA—higher than the total number of people enrolled in Medicaid as of January 2025.
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A French soldier serving with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeeping contingent was killed in a strike in southern Lebanon, French President Emmanuel Macron said.
“Staff Sergeant Florian Montorio of the 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment from Montauban was killed this morning in southern Lebanon during an attack on the UNIFIL peacekeeping mission,” he wrote on the X social network, expressing condolences to relatives of the deceased.
Three more soldiers were wounded and evacuated, Macron added. “Everything indicates that responsibility for the attack lies with [the Shiite organization] Hezbollah,” he said, therefore demanding that the Arab Republic’s authorities “arrest those responsible” and “assume responsibility” for maintaining order, along with UNIFIL.
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One such episode took place on April 10, when Patel struggled to log into an internal system and believed he had been locked out. He thought he was fired and contacted aides in a “freak-out”. The situation caused concern within the FBI and prompted calls to the White House and members of Congress about who was leading the agency. The issue was later found to be a technical error.More than two dozen people, including FBI staff and others familiar with his work, told reporters that Patel has been “erratic, suspicious of others, and prone to jumping to conclusions before he has necessary evidence,” according to a report cited by the Atlantic.
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Iran’s Supreme Leader has issied a chilling threat in a new bombshell message, while also taking a brutal swipe at Donald Trump and US troops.
Mojtaba Khamenei commended his forces for resisting what he called American and Israeli “arrogance”, before threatening to bring about “new defeats”. The Supreme Leader also said his opponents’ “weakness and humiliation” had been exposed for all to see. Khamenei has not been seen since the war began. He replaced his father Ali Khamenei, who was killed in Israeli-US strikes at the start of the conflict.
In a statement issued through an Iranian state news agency, Khamenei said his forces had “stood firm against America’s sinister schemes.”
He continued: “With its strong divine and popular support and in dense, fortified ranks, it (the army) stands shoulder to shoulder with other mujahideen of the armed forces against the two armies at the forefront of the front of kufr (disbelief) and arrogance, clashing with them hand-to-hand and exposing their weakness and humiliation to the eyes of the world.
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Ever since Pope Leo assumed the papacy, PBS News Hour Friday contributors MS NOW host Jonathan Capehart and The Atlantic staff writer David Brooks have tried to claim him as one of their own in their fight against the Trump administration. That continued this Friday as the duo essentially told Vice President JD Vance to shut up when it comes to criticizing Leo’s remarks about the Iran War, with Capehart claiming they are among “the most insulting things” a VP could say and Brooks arguing the Iran War is permissible under just war theory, but also isn’t because Trump.
Host Amna Nawaz began with Capehart and wondered, “Pope Leo issued a pretty strong statement rebuking the war in Iran. Trump then unloaded on him online. Vice President Vance jumped in to criticize him as well, telling him to be careful on matters of theology. Is it smart for the president to be getting into it with the pope? What does he stand to gain from that?”
Jonathan Capehart tells PBS that JD Vance’s pope criticisms are “one of the most insulting things I think I could possibly ever hear being said, one, to the pontiff, but, two, from the vice president of the United States. All of this is maddening and surreal.” (1/2) pic.twitter.com/UFV2kYbz1e
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) April 18, 2026
Using logic he would never apply to abortion, Capehart replied:
No, it’s not smart at all to be getting into it with the pope, to be fighting with the pope, even though the president says, ‘I’m not fighting with the pope.’ Yes, you are, and over something where it’s like the president is taking the words from the pope very, very seriously, when any pope, Pope Leo, Pope Francis, Pope John Paul, would have been saying the same thing, because this is about life and death. This is about right and wrong. And it’s something big that’s happening in the world that has commanded the pope’s attention.
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EXCERPT:
- Trump plans to ease access to psychedelics like psilocybin, ibogaine The Washington Post
- Trump Loosens Restrictions on Psychedelic Drugs The New York Times
- Trump signs order to speed up review of psychedelic drugs for mental health treatment NBC News
- Trump announces reforms to accelerate access to psychedelic drug treatments The Guardian
- President Trump orders faster review of psychedelic drugs for mental health treatment 10tv.com
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Using JWST data, an international team has, for the first time, successfully mapped the climates of two rocky exoplanets with masses similar to Earth’s. These two planets, TRAPPIST-1b and TRAPPIST-1c, belong to the iconic TRAPPIST-1 planetary system, discovered ten years ago.
The TRAPPIST-1 system, located about 40 light-years away, contains seven rocky planets orbiting a small, cool red dwarf star known as TRAPPIST-1
The two planets are likely devoid of atmospheres, as the temperature difference between day and night exceeds 500°C. TRAPPIST‑1b has a very hot dayside (about 490 K) but no detectable glow from its nightside, suggesting it’s a dark, airless world. TRAPPIST‑1c is cooler (about 369 K) with a similarly cold nightside, which could mean it either has a thin, oxygen‑rich atmosphere or a shiny, airless surface.
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Japan’s initial budget for defense spending and related costs for fiscal 2026 totaled about 10.6 trillion yen ($66.5 billion), equivalent to roughly 1.9 percent of its 2022 gross domestic product, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Friday.
Japan has set a goal of raising defense spending and related costs to 2 percent of GDP by fiscal 2027 in a notable shift from its long-standing practice of keeping defense spending around 1 percent of GDP amid growing security challenges from countries such as China and North Korea.
Using projected GDP for fiscal 2026, the ratio would stand at around 1.5 percent, Koizumi added while speaking to reporters.
Under its three key security documents adopted in late 2022, the Japanese government outlined plans to spend about 43 trillion yen on defense over the five years through 2027.
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The Department of Homeland Security just rolled out a new website for its city-occupying task forces that looks, more than anything, like a vibe-coded pitch deck. Launched on Friday, HSTF.gov was first announced on the FBI’s X account.
We don’t negotiate. We dismantle. The site’s slogan is displayed in the same sans-serif font stylings as direct-to-consumer deodorant companies and AI-powered lease abstraction platforms. The main page is largely consumed by a macho image, presumably AI-generated, of gas-masked officers with AR-15 style weapons advancing in formation through a cloud of tear gas.
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One of the most painful experiences any parent can have is outliving their child.
On Monday, U.S. Senator Mark Warner announced his 36-year-old daughter had died.
Warner made the announcement on X and shared that his daughter, Madison, died after suffering a decades-long health battle.
The Hill reported on the cause of the death:
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) on Monday announced the death of his 36-year-old daughter, who had suffered from juvenile diabetes.
“We are heartbroken beyond words by the passing of our beloved daughter, Madison, 36, after a decades-long battle with juvenile diabetes and other health issues. She filled our lives with love and laughter, and her absence leaves an immeasurable void,” Warner and his wife, Lisa Collins, posted in a statement on X.
“We are grateful for the loving support of friends and family during this difficult time and ask for privacy as we navigate this profound loss,” he added.
Madison is survived by two younger sisters. The three were introduced to the political spotlight in 2001 when Warner was elected governor of Virginia.
Here’s Warner’s post on X:
— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) April 20, 2026
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EXCERPT:
- Oil prices jump after U.S. seizes Iranian vessel, imperiling ceasefire The Washington Post
- Iran War Live Updates: Tehran Sends Mixed Signals on Talks After U.S. Seizes Ship The New York Times
- U.S. seizes Iranian-flagged ship, Warsh’s big week, Cursor funding and more in Morning Squawk CNBC
- Live updates: Pakistan prepares for upcoming peace talks despite US seizure of Iranian cargo ship AP News
- Oil and Gas Prices Surge After U.S. Navy Seizes Iranian-Flagged Cargo Ship Democracy Now!
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The Kremlin said Monday that a new U.S. sanctions waiver on Russian oil exports proves that the commodity is too vital to the global economy to be sidelined.
“Russia remains a responsible and very important player in global energy markets,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “The market is going through tough times and, of course, Russian volumes are difficult not to take into account and ignore.”
The U.S. Treasury Department issued the extension on Friday, allowing for the purchase of Russian oil and petroleum products loaded onto ships between April 17 and May 16. The move is part of an ongoing effort to stabilize global energy prices, which have surged following the outbreak of war in the Middle East.
Several Asian countries had lobbied Washington for an extension as they looked for alternatives to Middle Eastern supplies disrupted by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. On Thursday, Indonesia announced a new agreement to receive Russian crude, while Malaysia said its state energy firm, Petronas, is negotiating its own purchases.
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Diego Arguedas Ortiz, BBC
From before their babies are born, men undergo serious hormonal changes that can powerfully influence their behaviour – with consequences for their child’s…
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Quantum computers might eventually be able to handle some AI applications that currently require huge amounts of conventional computing power. Such a development would be a major boost to machine learning and similar artificial intelligence algorithms.
Quantum computers hold the promise of eventually being able to complete certain calculations that are impossible for conventional computers. For years, researchers have been debating whether these advantages over conventional computers extend to tasks that involve lots of data, and the algorithms that learn from them – in other words, the machine learning that underlies many AI programs.
Now, Hsin-Yuan Huang at the quantum computing firm Oratomic and his colleagues argue that the answer ought to be “yes”. Their mathematical work aims to lay the foundations for a future where quantum computers offer a broad boost to AI.
“Machine learning is really utilised everywhere in science and technology and also everyday life. In a world where we can build this [quantum computing] architecture, I feel like it can be applied whenever there’s massive datasets available,” he says.
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This week, Sam is joined by Maddy Myers, editor-in-chief of Mothership. She’s also a co-host of the video games podcast Triple Click.
Maddy launched Mothership with co-founder Zoë Hannah in January. It’s a queer and women-owned independent publication that focuses on gender and games. They discuss Maddy’s early days of games journalism at a (print!) alt-weekly in Boston and then at the Mary Sue, how she and Zoë decided it was time to quit their jobs and launch their own indie outlet, and the importance of owning your own work as a journalist.
Listen to the weekly podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. Become a paid subscriber for access to this episode’s bonus content and to power our journalism.
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President Donald Trump departs after speaking with reporters about the war in Iran during a news conference in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Monday, April 6, 2026.Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
In a Truth Social tirade on Sunday morning, President Donald Trump claimed that Iran violated their ceasefire agreement with the US by firing shots at ships in the Strait of Hormuz and again threatened to commit war crimes by taking out the country’s energy infrastructure.
“Many of [the bullets] were aimed at a French Ship, and a Freighter from the United Kingdom,” Trump contended about Iran’s targeting of the ships, without evidence. “That wasn’t nice, was it?”