x01c Top Archives

Blurb:

NATO, a 32-member alliance, was formed in 1949 to counter the risk of Soviet attack, and now focusses protecting ally counties by promising that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all

The Trump administration is considering a plan to remove US troops from some NATO ally countries (file image)(Image: Getty)

US President Donald Trump and his administration are considering a plan to remove US troops from NATO ally countries considered to be unhelpful in the US conflict with Iran.

It is understood that the troops would be stationed in countries that have been more supportive of the US military campaign.

The US and Israel have carried out joint strikes on several Iranian sites since February 28. Iran has retaliated by targeting countries across the Middle East, plunging the region into conflict.

Trump on Tuesday, April 7, announced a two-week ceasefire, which appears to be on the brink as Israel continues to strike Lebanon, while Kuwait and the UAE have faced missile and drone attacks on Wednesday.

News Source
EXCERPT:
Republicans are continuing their uninterrupted streak of woefully underperforming in elections. However, in the first of its kind referendum on Big Tech data centers, voters are showing that a party that embraces land sovereignty over Big Tech dystopian land grabs will win the day.

Sadly, Republicans have chosen to be on the losing side of the issue.

The public is being asked to shoulder a burden to facilitate a supposed technology whose benefits are very unclear and dubious.

In a first of its kind local referendum, voters in Port Washington, Wisconsin, voted by a margin of 2-1 for a referendum that will require all future data center projects in the area to be approved by a vote of the city’s residents.

The referendum was sparked in the wake of Oracle and OpenAI’s Stargate facility setting up shop in the area. The proposed 1.3 gigawatt facility will consume the power equivalent of over one million households.

Blurb:

Civilians have been caught in the crossfire and killed in military air strikes aimed at militants, though the authorities sometimes dispute hitting civilians.

Africa’s most populous country has been fighting a jihadist insurgency for 17 years, since Boko Haram’s 2009 uprising, which has seen the emergence of powerful splinter groups, including Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

A UN security memo seen by AFP, stated that “4 Nigerian Air Force (NAF) fighter jets launched airstrikes that mistakenly killed at least 56 people and injured 14 others at the Jilli market… on April 11.”

“This occurred during a military operation targeting Boko Haram fighters who visited the market to conduct terrorism activities,” it said.

Amnesty International earlier said on X that there were “more than 100 dead” and 35 people seriously wounded.

Local chief Lawan Zanna Nur, meanwhile, said: “The total casualties, dead and injured, are around 200.”

Blurb:

House Republicans indicated Wednesday they will continue to seek sworn testimony from Pam Bondi on the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case, even after her ousting as attorney general.

The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Bondi for an April 14 deposition, but that date was never confirmed by Bondi, and the panel said in a statement that it will continue to seek a date for her testimony.

“The Department of Justice has stated Pam Bondi will not appear on April 14 for a deposition since she is no longer Attorney General and was subpoenaed in her capacity as Attorney General,” a spokeswoman for Oversight Republicans said in a statement. “The Committee will contact Pam Bondi’s personal counsel to discuss next steps regarding scheduling her deposition.”

Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) issued a subpoena to Bondi last month after five Republican lawmakers on the panel joined with Democrats to compel her testimony. The campaign to force Bondi to sit for questioning was championed by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), who brought the motion during a hearing.

News Source
EXCERPT:

Up to four Congress members may be expelled this week, Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) predicts.

Benny Johnson listed the representatives who may face expulsion votes:

1. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL): indicted for funneling millions in federal disaster funds into her campaign

2. Eric Swalwell (D-CA): multiple sexual assault and misconduct allegations

3. Cory Mills (R-FL): allegations including sexual misconduct, domestic violence, campaign finance violations

4. Tony Gonzales (R-TX): sexual misconduct allegations, including an affair with a former staffer who later died by suicide.

News Source
EXCERPT:

The American military says the blockade of the vital shipping route has been “fully implemented”

American warships have effectively blocked Iranian trade through the Strait of Hormuz, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) has said.

“A blockade of Iranian ports has been fully implemented as US forces maintain maritime superiority in the Middle East,” CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper said in a statement on Tuesday evening.

“In less than 36 hours since the blockade was implemented, US forces have completely halted economic trade going into and out of Iran by sea,” Cooper added.

Blurb:

A federal judge in Massachusetts on Wednesday postponed the termination of temporary protected status for Ethiopians living in the U.S., finding the Trump administration unlawfully attempted to end it. 

In the order, U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy said the Trump administration terminated the designation “without regard for the process delineated by Congress.”

Under the Biden administration, thousands of Ethiopian immigrants in the country were granted the status beginning in 2022. The designation allows immigrants to temporarily live and work in the U.S. without fear of deportation because of armed conflict, environmental disasters or other humanitarian emergencies in their home country. The status was extended in 2024.

The Department of Homeland Security announced in December that Ethiopia “no longer met the conditions” for the TPS designation and the protections would terminate on Feb. 13.

News Source
EXCERPT:

EU lawmakers and countries agreed to double tariffs on foreign steel on Monday, to shield the bloc’s struggling industry from a flood of cheap Chinese exports.

European Union governments and parliament representatives reached a late evening deal to hike levies on steel imports to 50 percent and slash the volume allowed in before tariffs apply by 47 percent.

“The shape and global standing of Europe‘s steel sector are fundamental to our strategic autonomy and industrial strength. We therefore cannot afford to turn a blind eye to global overcapacity reaching critical levels,” commented the EU’s trade chief, Maros Sefcovic.

“Today’s outcome helps bring much-needed stability for our producers to thrive in Europe”.

News Source
EXCERPT:

The strong warning reitrates that China has an energy agreement with Iran and therefore its ships will not be intercepted.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Defense Ministry said: “Chinese ships continue to move in and out of the waters of the Strait of Hormuz.

“We have trade and energy agreements with Iran, which we will respect and abide by.

“We expect others not to interfere in our affairs.

“Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz, and has opened it to us.”

Blurb:

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, takes his seat before a meeting of the White House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence Education in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025, in Washington.Alex Brandon/AP

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.

Sam Altman suggested that an investigative story describing him as someone “unconstrained by truth” with a “sociopathic lack of concern” for consequences caused an early Friday attack on his San Francisco home.

News Source
EXCERPT:

California Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell, who until Sunday was running for governor of his state, will now be one of those cautionary tales his party likes to use in claiming that — unlike Republicans — Democrats are too concerned with principles and decency. It’s a pathetic coping front for what really happened with that sick party, which once again is living by the destructive, anti-American standards they’ve tried imposing on everyone else.

A few women in recent days — all anonymous except one — went to some media outlets to accuse Swalwell of sexual misconduct, including rape. The lizardly congressman has denied any criminal wrongdoing while also apologizing for “mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past.” Nevertheless, he suspended his gubernatorial campaign and now faces some pressure to resign from Congress, as well as a criminal investigation in New York.

Purely based on the so-far reported details of this unseemly saga, there’s no reason to deny Swalwell’s American entitlement to innocence before proven guilty. As is routine in these #MeToo episodes, the accusations are mostly just that — accusations — and the supporting evidence is limited to friends and family of the alleged victims who attest to their validity.

News Source
EXCERPT:

Law-abiding citizens of Virginia have been on pins and needles these past few days waiting to see how Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) would handle a bill that had been sitting on her desk for a month that would ban the purchase of certain “assault firearms.”

There was a hard deadline of 11:59 p.m. Monday for her to take action. She had several options: sign it, veto it, send it back to the General Assembly with suggested amendments, or simply do nothing, which would allow it to become law without her signature.

Considering “Grabby Abby” Spanberger had happily voted in favor of assault weapons bans during her time in Congress, it seemed likely that she wound ink this bill into law without a second thought. However, there was one big mitigating factor hanging over her: the April 21 referendum on whether or not to allow Virginia Democrats to gerrymander Republicans out of four of the five congressional seats they currently hold – and some signs are pointing to the vote not going the Democrats’ way.

News Source
EXCERPT:

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem urged Lebanon on Monday to cancel a planned meeting with Israel in Washington the following day, reiterating his group’s rejection of direct negotiations with Israel.

“We reject negotiations with the usurping Israeli entity…We call for a historic and heroic stance by cancelling this negotiating meeting,” Qassem, whose Iran-backed group has been at war with Israel since 2 March, said in a televised address.

The Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the United States are scheduled to meet in Washington on Tuesday to discuss holding direct negotiations between the two countries.

Lebanese authorities have stressed that Beirut first wants to secure a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war, but Israel has dismissed that prospect, saying it prefers instead to focus on formal peace talks with Lebanon itself, with which it has technically been at war for decades.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that “we want the dismantling of Hezbollah’s weapons and we want a real peace agreement that will last for generations.”

News Source
EXCERPT:

“California Democrats are trying to intimidate citizen watchdog journalists and protect waste and fraud happening in far-Left-wing NGOs.”

California Democrats have advanced a bill that aims to protect “designated immigration support services” from “threats or acts of violence.” Republican lawmakers have warned that the bill would silence citizen journalists such as Nick Shirley, who has recently released reports uncovering millions in fraud in the state.

California’s AB 2624 passed the Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee in an 11-2 vote on April 7 and was referred to the Judiciary Committee. Republican Assemblymembers Alexandra Macedo and Carl DeMaio were the only ones to vote against it. The bill, which has been dubbed the “Stop Nick Shirley Act” by DeMaio, was authored by Democrat Assemblymember Mia Bonta, the wife of California Attorney General Rob Bonta.

The bill would prohibit the posting of personal information or the image “of any designated immigration support services provider, employee, or volunteer, or other individuals residing at the same home address” online with the “intent” to “Incite a third person to cause imminent great bodily harm to the designated immigration support services provider,” or to “Threaten the designated immigration support services provider.”

News Source
EXCERPT:

The Department of Homeland Security knows of at least 660,000 illegal immigrants in the U.S. with criminal records, including 13,000 convicted killers, nearly 16,000 sex assault convicts and 56,000 involved with dangerous drugs.

Illegal immigrants killed 13,000 Americans in 2024.

The total number of murder cases in the US in 2024 was 20,162.

That’s 64% of all murder cases.

And the Democrats want to abolish ICE.

And all in the name of the Democrats’ desire to win the election

15,000 killers, 20,000 sexual assault convicts, 60,000 robbers among illegal immigrants at large

Thousands of other migrants have been charged but not yet convicted of those and other crimes.

They are part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s “non-detained docket,” a list of more than 7 million illegal immigrants that ICE is supposed to be monitoring as they are awaiting final deportation decisions or, in some cases, are fugitives who are refusing to go. (Washington Times)

Blurb:

BUDAPEST, April 13. /TASS/. Hungary’s opposition Tisza party has won the parliamentary election, securing 138 out of 199 seats in the National Assembly (unicameral parliament) and a constitutional majority for the next four years, the National Election Commission said.

Party leader and member of the European Parliament Peter Magyar is expected to be elected prime minister at the first session of parliament in early May. The exact date will be set by President Tamas Sulyok. Magyar will replace Viktor Orban, who leads the Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance party.

Blurb:

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office confirmed on Saturday it is launching an investigation into Californian Rep. Eric Swalwell, over an alleged sexual assault involving a former staffer in 2024, according to a new report.

Swalwell’s former staffer — who has not been identified — told CNN that after a night of drinking with her former boss in April 2024, she was heavily intoxicated and woke up to him having sex with her in his hotel bed.

News Source
EXCERPT:

A Chinese-owned oil and chemical tanker slipped through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, becoming the first vessel to make the crossing since President Trump’s blockade on Iranian ports began Monday and raising fresh questions about how hard Tehran and its trading partners are willing to test U.S. pressure.

Fox News reported the tanker, Rich Starry, successfully transited the strait after being turned back on Monday. The ship made it through on its second attempt, the outlet said.

The Trump administration’s blockade is aimed at choking off traffic to and from Iranian ports, not shutting down the entire waterway. Fox News said the Rich Starry was traveling from the United Arab Emirates, not heading to or departing from Iran, and was therefore allowed to pass.

News Source
EXCERPT:

A mob assault on a female journalist during an anti-ICE demonstration in Minneapolis over the weekend is being investigated by the FBI and Department of Justice.

Savanah Hernandez, a reporter for Turning Point USA (TPUSA), was mobbed by violent and unhinged anti-ICE agitators outside the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis on Saturday as she was filming the protest.

The Whipple Building, the center of federal immigration enforcement activity in the region, has been the site of many demonstrations and riots in the past several months. During the Operation Metro Surge campaign, anti-ICE agitators gathered around the building on a daily basis. Anti-ICE militants have continued to gather outside to protest even after the campaign’s end.

Anti-America, Pro-Iran Spanish Prime Minister’s Wife Just Criminally Charged – RedState redstate.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has been sticking his thumb in the eye of the United States for years, but now he’s got other things to worry about than whether to continue to tear down the Western alliance at the behest of Islamists. According to reports, Sanchez’s wife, Begona Gomez, has been criminally charged for various corruption-related offenses, including influence peddling and embezzlement. 

Blurb:

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth drew some parallels between the timing of the Easter weekend rescue mission of a downed U.S. Air Force officer behind enemy lines and the resurrection of Jesus Christ nearly two thousand years ago.

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.”

Blurb:

Just when you thought the State of California could not possibly find another way to waste taxpayer funds, lawmakers beat everyone’s expectations.

A proposed California law “would expand access to state-funded legal representation for undocumented immigrants,” according to Newsweek.

Last time I checked, it was not the job of elected officials to fund the legal bills of foreign nationals, especially on the taxpayers’ dime. While I am no legal expert, I am having a hard time seeing how this is legal, but draw your own conclusions.

It is almost like lawmakers took a look at all the fraud and misuse of funds and decided to DOUBLE IT. From over $100 million in hospice fraud to spending $24 billion on homeless initiatives — which made the problem worse — to the $126 billion train to nowhere — to its $114 million butterfly bridge — the state just cannot help itself.

Assembly Bill 2600, proposed by Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Oakland), would expand access to publicly funded attorneys for individuals facing immigration proceedings in California.

Blurb:

Russia and China on Tuesday vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz that had been repeatedly watered down in hopes those two countries would abstain.

The vote — 11-2, with two abstentions from Pakistan and Colombia— took place just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump issued an unprecedented threat that a “whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran does not open the strategic waterway and make a deal before his 8 p.m. Eastern deadline. One-fifth of the world’s oil typically passes through the strait, and Iran’s stranglehold during the war has sent energy prices soaring.