In the post, published January 6, Moreno-Gama argues that artificial intelligence (AI) poses an existential threat to humanity and criticizes the motivations of tech leaders, writing that for them “morality and safety become a hindrance to their goals.”

The post focuses heavily on Altman, repeating a series of unsubstantiated allegations, including claims that Altman “raped his own sister,” “assassinated an OpenAI whistleblower,” and lied “under oath to Congress.” Altman has denied the allegations involving his family, and his relatives have said his sister struggles with mental health issues. The whistleblower referenced, Suchir Balaji, was determined by the San Francisco Chief Medical Examiner to have died by suicide.

Moreno-Gama expresses frustration that Altman has “faced zero consequences and is likely to never face any.”

To address what he describes as the threat posed by AI, Moreno-Gama advocates halting the expansion of AI infrastructure. He calls for “stopping the construction of new data centers,” which he describes as “the brains of these models,” and scaling back existing facilities. He also suggests the United States should “strike deals with China” to slow the global development of AI. 

He writes that “as many people as possible need to be acting in as many strategic ways possible,” recommending that supporters spread information online and through traditional methods, as well as engage in campaigning and protests. He describes inaction as “akin to suicide.” 

Authorities said Moreno-Gama was found with a manifesto that included a list of AI executives and investors along with their addresses. He expressed hostility toward other prominent figures in the tech industry, including xAI Founder Elon Musk, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Amazon Executive Chairman Jeff Bezos, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, though Altman was the primary focus of his writings. 

Additional posts published on Moreno-Gama’s Substack account provide further insight into his thinking in the weeks leading up to the alleged attack.  

In one article, he reflects on the meaning of life, writing, “Every generation of humans has for the most part done whatever is in its power to increase the standards of living for their children and therefore the next generation.” 

He also wrote that he grew up Protestant but later drifted between practicing faith and atheism, adding that he no longer identifies as an atheist. 

Elsewhere, he contrasts the idea of a “martyr,” someone willing to die for a cause, with a “warrior,” who he says may also be willing to kill for it. Moreno-Gama invokes Jesus Christ as the ultimate example of the martyr.

The final post before his alleged attack was a poem titled ‘What Will Their Children Say,” questioning how future generations might judge the present. “Did you think this could happen?” it asks. “Was there anything you could’ve done to stop it?”

Weeks later, Moreno-Gama allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail at Altman’s home and threatened to burn down OpenAI’s headquarters. Altman responded with a blog post and a photo of his family, saying he hoped it would deter future acts of violence. 

“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 posted on X. 

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.

— Rep. Tony Gonzales (@RepTonyGonzales) April 13, 2026

The news came about an hour after Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) announced he would step down over a sex scandal.

On March 5, Gonzales dropped his re-election bid in Texas’s 23rd Congressional District after being forced into a runoff by GOP challenger Brandon Herrera. He’s also faced calls from fellow Republicans to resign his seat. 

Those calls came after Gonzales admitted to an affair with former staffer Regina Santos-Aviles, a 35-year-old married mother who “doused herself in gasoline and was ignited into flames” in the backyard of her Uvalde, Texas home, according to the fire department.

The Daily Wire previously reported that Gonzales said his affair with Santos-Aviles ended in the summer of 2024, more than a year before Santos-Aviles killed herself. Text messages published in February by the San Antonio Express-News appear to show Gonzales making sexual requests to Santos-Aviles.

Brian Hooker has been in custody in Freeport since Wednesday, when authorities arrested him in relation to his missing wife, Lynette Hooker. Brian claimed that she fell overboard from their small dinghy on April 4 at sunset. Since extending Brian’s custody an additional 72 hours on Friday, Bahamian officials have a deadline of 7:20 p.m. local time to either release Brian or charge him in connection to his wife’s disappearance, according to his lawyer, Terel Butler.

From the beginning, Brian has denied any foul play and insisted that Lynette simply fell overboard due to rough seas near Elbow Cay. Elbow Cay is a five-mile long cay in the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas, known for its shallow, clear waters where tourists and locals alike drop anchor and spend a day on the water.

“He definitely denies causing her death, and he still asks about her and is hopeful that she will be recovered,” Butler said Friday.

Brian reportedly called fellow sailors, Marnee and Blaine Stevenson, a day before his arrest and explained what had happened as the couple headed back on the dinghy to their sailboat, Soulmate.

“She basically just bounced off the dinghy in the middle of a little blow, like 20-something knot winds that popped up,” Brian said.

Marnee and Blaine recorded the April 7 phone call with Brian and posted the video on their YouTube account. Marnee also shared text messages with CBS from a conversation with Lynette, during which the 55-year-old told Marnee she could not be out on the water with Brian.

“We were married 21 years. Our marriage lasted 6 weeks cruising,” Lynette wrote in the texts. “It was real bad. I can’t be out there with him.”

A flotation device has been recovered and since Lynette disappeared — and according to Lynette’s mother, Darlene Hamlett, her daughter’s Apple Watch was recovered — but Lynette still has not been located.

Brian’s lawyer said authorities are “close to a decision” on whether or not to charge Brian with a crime, per Fox News.

“Even if they decided to charge him, it’s highly unlikely that he would go to court today,” Butler said. “So we will know by 7:20 p.m. today what their decision will be … It is possible that when a person has completed their time, that when they walk out, they can be re-arrested and time starts again.”

Butler said her client is “drained” from the interrogations and that he is “just hoping to have closure to be released so that he can continue to search to find out what has happened to his wife.”

Lynette’s mom joined the “Drop Dead Serious” podcast, describing in detail how her daughter was repeatedly abused by Brian over their more than 20-year marriage.

“He has two sides to his personality, he can be very pleasurable, pleasant and he can be very vicious,” Hamlett said. “He threw her down on this bench … the boat has a little bench where you sit around the table in the galley. She landed on that, he was on top of her, he was choking her, and she felt something crack in her neck. She was so stiff-necked for a long time. I don’t know how or why, but she stayed on the boat that night … one of the conversations that they had while they were on the boat the next morning is he told her that he wished he had finished the job and thrown her overboard.”

Stories like the one Hamlett shared are why she, along with her granddaughter, Kylie Aylesworth, wanted a thorough investigation into Lynette’s disappearance.

Lynette has reportedly left Brian several times during their marriage and often documented the abuse with photos to help her not go back to him, according to Hamlett. Her daughter would often come stay with her in Florida when things with Brian were tumultuous, and every time Lynette returned to the Bahamas Hamlett said she believed it could be the last time she saw her daughter.

The 76-year-old said she doesn’t want to talk to Brian, but if she could talk to Lynette she would tell her daughter this: “I love you, and I wish you would have come home.”

The Daily Wire reached out to the United States Coast Guard, who is looking into the incident, and officials with the Coast Guard told us “we cannot comment on an ongoing investigation.”

In a 2,000-word article that was originally titled “Hasan Piker is not the Enemy,” New York Times opinion columnist Ezra Klein acknowledged some of Piker’s controversial comments, including his support for designated terrorist groups, but argued that “to focus only on those comments is to miss much else that Piker has said and believes.” Klein also suggested that Democrats would be unwise to brush Piker off and refuse to appear on his show because of his large social media following and his appeal among the younger and more radical segments of the Left.

The streamer has also gained national attention for expressing support for radical Islamic terrorists while calling Republicans “the biggest terrorists” in the world.

“I would vote for Hamas over Israel every single time,” Piker said during a recent appearance on the popular leftist podcast “Pod Save America.” At another point of the podcast, Piker said, “The biggest terrorists, the biggest domestic terrorist in this country, the biggest terrorist internationally is the Republican Party.”

According to Klein, statements like these shouldn’t scare Democrats away from Piker. The New York Times columnist also argued that just because Piker has voiced support for terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah doesn’t mean he’s a “Jew hater.”

“I have deep disagreements with Piker, but he isn’t a ‘Jew hater.’ He’s an anti-Zionist. And here, I think, the real stakes of this fight come into view,” Klein wrote before going into a long defense of Piker’s anti-Israel views.

“Israel, as it is behaving today, and as it is constructing itself for tomorrow, is incompatible with any normal understanding of liberal values,” Klein continued.

The New York Times columnist did not say if Piker’s cheering for designated terror groups is in line with liberal values. Instead, Klein touted Piker’s support for Jewish Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Jon Ossoff (D-GA).

On Monday, the Times changed the headline on Klein’s opinion article from “Hasan Piker is not the Enemy” to “This is Why There’s No Liberal Joe Rogan.”

Much of Klein’s defense of Piker focuses on how the Democratic Party pushed cancel culture to its own detriment. Klein points out that most Democrats either condemned or ignored podcaster Joe Rogan in the lead-up to and during the 2024 presidential election cycle, paving the way for Republicans to capitalize on Rogan’s massive audience with very little counter-messaging.

“In avoiding those spaces, Democrats avoided contact with the kinds of voters they otherwise claimed to represent,” Klein wrote. “This is the mistake Democrats often make when they talk about what they did wrong in 2024. They realize, now, that they should try to talk to the people who listen to these shows; they are less likely to realize that they should listen to the people who talk on these shows.”

Klein then argued that Piker represents another opportunity for Democrats to reach voters, and he questioned the reasoning of Democrats, such as Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin and Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, who have declined invitations to appear on Piker’s show.

“When you’re dealing with podcasters or streamers who talk, unstructured and unrehearsed, for hours each week, if not every day, there’s going to be so much said that it’s almost inevitable that a dossier of dumb statements can be compiled,” Klein wrote. “To write those people out of acceptable political discourse is to back yourself into a shrinking, sanitized corner of the public sphere.”

Democrats who are approaching Piker correctly in Klein’s view are Sen. Sanders, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who have all either appeared on Piker’s show or collaborated with Piker in some form. California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has also said he is open to appearing on Piker’s show.

Most recently, Piker campaigned with U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan as El-Sayed hopes to win a competitive Democratic primary.

“There’s a battle brewing,” Piker said at a campaign event with El-Sayed. “A battle brewing not only against the corrupt fascist forces of the Republican Party, but also against do-nothing Democrats.”

Swalwell faced mounting calls for his resignation and the possibility of expulsion. The House Ethics Committee launched a probe into his behavior on Monday afternoon.

“I am deeply sorry to my family, staff, and constituents for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past. I will fight the serious, false allegation made against me. However, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make,” he said.

“I am aware of efforts to bring an immediate expulsion vote against me and other members. Expelling anyone in Congress without due process, within days of an allegation being made, is wrong. But it’s also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties,” Swalwell added.

“Therefore, I plan to resign my seat in Congress. I will work with my staff in the coming days to ensure they are able, in my absence, to serve the needs of the good people of the 14th congressional district.”

Swalwell dropped out of the California governor’s race on Sunday night, after losing nearly all of his endorsements.

“I am suspending my campaign for Governor. To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past. I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s,” Swalwell wrote in a post from his campaign account at the time.

The allegations of misconduct initially started as social media rumors throughout last week, then hitting a breaking point when the San Francisco Chronicle and other outlets released stories of women who were alleged victims of Swalwell’s misconduct.

Prior to dropping out of the governor’s race, multiple polls indicated that he was the leading Democrat in the top-two primary race. Once the allegations surfaced,  Swalwell lost nearly all of his major endorsements, ranging from Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) to major labor groups.

Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) initially defended the California lawmaker against the early social media rumors, but then retracted his endorsement and called for Swalwell’s expulsion on Monday.

“I support the ethics committee’s investigation and believe Eric Swalwell is no longer fit to be a Member of Congress. He should be expelled from Congress,” the senator said. “I want to be clear: I had no knowledge of the allegations of assault, harassment, and predatory behavior against Eric Swalwell.

“I trusted someone who I believed was a friend, but it is now clear that he is not the person I thought I knew. The women who have come forward have shown courage. They deserve to be believed, to be supported, and to see justice served,” he added.

There was an effort underway Monday to get him expelled from the chamber, which would have made him one of only six members of Congress ever to be removed if it passed with a 2/3 majority vote.

This is a developing story, refresh the page for updates.

***

Sabrina Carpenter is canceled. It’s surprising it took so long. The pop star famous for her bubbly, retro sounds is no stranger to controversy. She’s come under fire in the past for her performances simulating sex acts on stage, and her music videos routinely feature male murder fantasies. But now, Carpenter has finally stepped on a progressive cultural land mine. During her headline Coachella performance, the singer committed a grave act of “xenophobia” when responding to a disruptive fan, and her carnivorous fan base has finally found an excuse to take out its queen bee.

Coachella 2026 was poised to be the highlight of Sabrina Carpenter’s meteoric rise to pop stardom. Her headline show, dubbed by fans “Sabrinawood” for its nods to Old Hollywood, was a star-studded affair with over-the-top stage production and cameos from iconic actors such as Sam Elliott. As initial videos of the performance trickled onto social media, the internet crowned her the reigning princess of Coachella.

Then the unthinkable happened. An interaction with a loud fan summoned the internet’s cancel culture vultures with accusations of racism and xenophobia.

X user Poppy posted a clip of the incident, which has now been removed, showing a performance interrupted by what Sabrina Carpenter called a “yodel.” After being informed by the audience member that it was a cultural custom, Sabrina grimaced and responded, “That’s your culture?” Poppy’s caption expressed disappointment: “sabrina saying that she doesn’t like a cultural arabic cheer… this is so insensitive and islamophobic.”

The post garnered 30.9 million views and a response from Carpenter, who quickly apologized after being informed of the disruptor’s cultural background, “my apologies I didn’t see this person with my eyes.”

The fan was not from Appalachia or the Swiss Alps, as Sabrina likely assumed, and the noise was not a yodel, but a zaghrouta, a celebratory ululation used throughout North Africa and the Middle East. In the eyes of Sabrina Carpenter’s progressive fanbase, the offender was not a safe person to criticize.

“I’m in a complete shock,” one of the viral posts said, “I used to be a huge sabrina carpenter fan and now she’s mocking my culture and calling me ‘weird’, this is so racist and inappropriate and it made me feel uncomfortable. this white blonde racist woman should be cancelled.”

The speed with which Sabrina Carpenter’s fans were willing to condemn her is revelatory of the inner workings of “stan” culture, a pop-star-obsessed internet subculture. The name originates from Eminem’s 2000 song “Stan,” which chronicles a fan’s obsession that devolves from sending letters into a murder-suicide. For “stans” to adopt this identity as their own, even if done ironically, indicates a destructive underbelly.

As I pointed out in this post, the quick switch-up from fan to hater is often rooted in progressive politics. Over a decade ago, a Tumblr account called Your Fave is Problematic became famous for its lists of celebrity transgressions. Even Katy Perry, the current girlfriend of former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, was “called out” for transgressions such as “[demonstrating] unsafe binding techniques,” cultural appropriation, and “trivializing bisexuality” with her hit song “I Kissed a Girl.” As a pop culture-obsessed tween, I was introduced to progressive puritanism by blogs such as these.

Stan culture is inextricably linked with progressive politics. Once a star has misbehaved, the incident serves as cover for a variety of heinous comments and obsessive cyberbullying of both the star and her fans. Sabrina Carpenter will undoubtedly encounter this fate. Her fans now have a decision to make that feels consequential: call her out and distance yourself, or become problematic too.

This is an under-recognized entry point of the progressive radicalization pipeline: online stan culture. The participants are young and want to fit in, and participating in the cancelation mob is a moral duty in this environment.

While many have correctly pointed out that Sabrina Carpenter has cultivated this type of fanbase, it is nearly impossible to ascend to her level of stardom without engaging in progressive politicking. The danger is that progressives are more puritan than puritans themselves and offer no path to redemption. The stakes of offending them, which is laughably easy to do, are incredibly high.

For radical progressive pop fans, God is replaced by the pop star. In this role, it isn’t enough for Sabrina Carpenter to be exceptional; she must be perfect. If she is human, like the rest of us, then she doesn’t deserve the lights, the stage, the celebrity cameos, and most importantly, the money that comes with being at the top. In this light, Carpenter’s cancellation is completely predictable.

***

Maggie Anders is a video journalist and political commentator. Her work explores international political movements, history, pop culture, economics, the cost-of-living crisis, and Gen Z social issues. 

I’m not speaking of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.

I’m speaking of the American Exceptionalist Party and the bipartisan Grievance Party.

The former believes in American exceptionalism, that America is awesome, that we have historically been awesome, and that we will be awesome again if we do the hard things that we must do.

Conversely, the Grievance Party believes America is not awesome, never was awesome, and will only be awesome if we fundamentally rewrite the American bargain — and also retreat from the world for our great sins.

That battle between the American Exceptionalist and the Grievance Party — Left and Right — will define our future as Americans.

And right now, that battle is being fought over Iran.

The American Exceptionalist Party may argue over tax rates. We may argue over the prosecution of particular wars, whether it’s to do them or how to do them. But we generally agree that America has the best constitutional system, the strongest and best free-market economy, and the most powerful military in all of human history.

We know that America, in order to preserve the freest and most prosperous nation in world history, sometimes has to do the tough stuff — but doing the tough stuff is part of what makes America great.

Then there are the members of the Grievance Party. They’re on the Left, and they’re on the Right. They’re the people President Trump calls “low IQ,” and they’ve become largely indistinguishable from one another, from Hasan Piker on the Left to Tucker Carlson on the Right.

They seem to believe that America’s constitutional system is a mockery and a sham, that our free market economy is actually a rigged oligarchy created by nefarious and evil elites at the expense of the poor, that our military is a gigantic terrorist operation, and that the world would somehow be better off if America abandoned the international playing field.

The Grievance Party is gaining adherents because the world feels chaotic.

And when the world feels chaotic, there is comfort in grievance.

When you feel like nothing is in your control, it is easy and politically productive to blame mysterious forces beyond your control. That also happens to be a recipe for failure, both individually and nationally, which is what the propagandists for the Grievance Party members are openly rooting for. They root for the United States to fail in its battle to stop the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, Iran —an apocalyptic death cult that cries “Death to America” — from obtaining nuclear weapons.

They want America to lose. They want America to give up power to China and to Russia. They openly say so.

But here’s the thing: America is not losing. And that is because American Exceptionalists know that in a chaotic world, the only answer is to stand up for American values and to do that without apology, with strength, and with courage.

President Trump is doing that right now in Iran.

If you listened to the low-IQ Grievance Party propagandists and their left-wing legacy media counterparts over the course of the last week, you might have thought that President Trump was caving in, that the ceasefire was Trump chickening out, that it was TACO time.

But it wasn’t.

Over the weekend, it turned out some of us were right, and some people were wrong, because he didn’t cave in.

And now, he is holding Iran’s feet to the fire, and they have really, really serious problems.

The United States still has a lot of cards left to play. We could embargo all of the oil that is coming out of Iran. We can blockade it. We could also just blow up Kharg Island and create a permanent problem for Iran. The Israelis could do a special operation and grab the nuclear materials right now.

And, as the Iranian economy collapses, the regime is in very, very serious trouble.

This raises the only possibility Iran has left, and that is to convince members of the Grievance Party that if they complain loud enough, the president will stop.

The reality, always and forever, is that Americans don’t like wars until we win them. That’s it. Even the wars that we do like at the very beginning, if we start to lose them, Americans don’t like them anymore.

Americans like winning. And we don’t like losing. It is that simple.

Americans are willing to undergo this for a temporary period of time, as they have said over and over and over.

But members of the Grievance Party refuse to understand any of this, and spend all of their time trying to trot out the propaganda of our enemies.

There are many pragmatic questions we can ask about whether particular measures in an intervention are good or bad, productive or unproductive, or even counterproductive. But the main difference that we are seeing emerge in American politics right now — and this will decide the future of the country — is between the American Exceptionalists, who believe that America was good, is good and will be good again, and the people who believe that America was never good fundamentally, gave up the ghost decades ago, and that the only cure for the United States is, as Barack Obama once suggested, fundamental change.

This has been a battle long in coming. The fact that it has infused a little part of the Right, a splintered fragment of the Right, is not a great shock in a time of social media brainwashed algorithmic nonsense.

But it is the fight. It is the fight.

And President Trump has no intention of losing.

The shoehorning of modern leftist elements into a beloved series should come as no surprise, especially since it’s coming from a company like Disney, which now owns the show through its acquisition of 21st Century Fox, the studio behind the original.

“Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair” debuted four back-to-back episodes on Friday, and due to the busy schedules of the cast, there won’t be any more. The latest episodes follow the titular star (played by Frankie Muniz) after he’s all grown up and has grown apart from his family. 

The original series, which ran from 2000 to 2006, focused on Malcolm, an exceptionally intelligent child who made his way through life with a dysfunctional family. The sitcom was a massive hit, winning seven Emmy Awards and attracting a cult following.

It ended with family matriarch Lois (Jane Kaczmarek) finding out she’s pregnant. “Breaking Bad” star Bryan Cranston played the dad, and reprises his role in “Life’s Still Unfair,” too. Their surprise child, Kelly, is a teenager in the new version and uses they/them pronouns. The actor playing the part, Vaughan Murrae, identifies as “non-binary” in real life, too. Stevie Kenarban, who was Malcolm’s best friend in the original series, is depicted as gay in the reboot.

Many fans are not happy about the changes. 

“So. Disney brings Back [‘Malcolm in the Middle’], which ended decades ago with a proper send off. They made Stevie gay, despite him crushing on Malcolm’s babysitter, pretending to be in critical condition to get another girl to like him, there’s stacking amounts of evidence proving he likes girls,” one popular reaction on X says. 

“And the child Hal and Lois had at the very end is, wait for it……..non binary. If you had even a shred of hope that you were going to ‘relive the glory days’ you were kidding yourself… Don’t waste your time, it’s modern Disney being modern Disney again, and again, and again!”

“What a disgusting, soul-crushing disappointment,” another viral reaction said. “It’s absolute trash. No laughs. No chaos. No nostalgia. Just four episodes of pointless, preachy slop that feels like it was written by a committee of blue-haired Disney interns who hate straight families and actual comedy.”

“Woke isn’t gone. It’s just suppressed for the moment,” another person agreed. “They will be back the moment they get the political support they need, and they will be angry, and they will be in full-on retribution mode.”

Show creator Linwood Boomer and his wife, executive producer Tracy Katsky, said they drew inspiration from their personal lives. 

“I gotta tell you, it’s a really important thing to us,” Katsky told Deadline during a recent interview just ahead of the reboot’s premiere. 

“Three out of four of our kids are queer, and without making it a thing and without making an issue, I think it’s really nice to have a character that, that’s just a facet of their personality as opposed to the entire story.”

Swalwell faced several accusations ranging from inappropriate behavior to sexually charged messages to at least one claim of rape. The Bay Area congressman denied those charges, calling the allegations, which surfaced late Friday afternoon, “absolutely false.” They were first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN. 

Over the weekend, Democrats nationwide yanked their endorsements and threatened to expel Swalwell from Congress. On Sunday night, Swalwell ended his gubernatorial campaign. 

“I am suspending my campaign for Governor,” Swalwell announced in an X post. “To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past. I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s.” 

I am suspending my campaign for Governor.

To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past.

I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s.

— Eric Swalwell (@ericswalwell) April 13, 2026

Swalwell’s exit from the race scrambles a crowded field of Democratic and Republican candidates hoping to advance to the November general election.  

Dan Schnur, who teaches political communications at USC and UC Berkeley, said there is still no clear frontrunner. 

“The primary was already a mess; now it’s turned into a mosh pit,” Schnur said.

“Swalwell had appeared to be gathering some momentum over the last few weeks, but now it appears that they’re back to square one,” Schnur said. “Even before this controversy, there was no precedent in modern California politics or a gubernatorial primary that is this crowded or without a frontrunner so close to the primary.”

The Daily Wire previously reported on a California Democratic poll showing the two Republican candidates still leading the race for governor, with Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and conservative commentator Steve Hilton each receiving 14% of likely voters.

Swalwell led the Democratic field with 12% support, followed closely by billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer at 11%. Former Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) trailed with 7%, while the remaining four Democratic candidates each registered 4% support or less. Other Democrats in the race include former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, former state Controller Betty Yee, state schools Supt. Tony Thurmond, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Porter and Steyer “appear best positioned to benefit” from Swalwell’s exit, Schnur said, but he cautioned that Democratic candidates who focus solely on President Donald Trump are unlikely to break through.

“The overwhelming majority of California voters hear their sentiment about the president, but that’s really not much of a differentiator in a crowded field,” Schnur told The Daily Wire.

Internal polling from the Porter campaign and Steyer campaigns suggests the former congresswoman stands to gain a large share of Swalwell’s support.

On the Republican side, President Trump endorsed Hilton, but the California Republican Party failed to reach a consensus during its convention over the weekend.

Under California’s “jungle primary” system, all candidates appear on the same ballot, and the top two vote-getters advance to the general election in November regardless of party.

California’s primary election is set for June 2, 2026.

“Peace be with you.”

Not long after Pope Leo closed the holy Easter Octave on this important liturgical day by leading an evening peace vigil at the Vatican, President Donald Trump tore into the Holy Father on social media, calling him “WEAK on Crime” and “terrible on foreign policy.”

In many ways, the post was classic Trump: the most powerful man in the world was not just writing with the random capitalizations and uppercase blocked phrases, but offering a series of unhinged attacks interspersed with increasingly questionable accounts of his own record. (How many times do we have to hear that someone who won the 2024 election by 1.5 percentage points did so “IN A LANDSLIDE”?)

Even as a Catholic who hated this post on multiple levels, parts of it do remind me of what makes Trump genuinely appealing to so many, even now. He refuses to play pietistic games and directly criticizes those whom he feels deserve it. He does so with a performative self-assuredness that, even as it misleads, makes easy, sweeping analysis more complicated because it often brushes up against something true. (He was not wrong to speculate that Pope Leo is probably not pope today if someone else were president.) Despite hurting so many people with his words and actions, he is also at times genuinely funny and engaging, not least because he puts his humanity on full display. His supporters (and sometimes even his detractors) love this humanity, especially when contrasted with the inauthentic, poll-tested, AI-scrubbed, robot-like affect we get from most other politicians.

But Trump’s humanity needs redemption. Badly.

Saying so isn’t a politically motivated attack; it is simply asserting the truth of Christianity. Human beings are born with fallen natures, with primordial wounds which play out in our desire to accumulate, to dominate, and to prove ourselves worthy of love and affection at the expense of others. Trump’s wounds in this regard are not different in kind from those writ large on the hearts of humanity.

But his wounds are on full display in front of the whole world. Not just on social media, but on the skyscrapers and other massive buildings with his name on them, in his renaming institutions after himself, and in his ferociously putting other people down in an attempt to build himself up. These are obviously not the marks of a man who is at peace with himself.

And then there was the assassin’s bullet in Pennsylvania, which came less than an inch from ending his life. At a recent prayer breakfast, Trump said that this “changed something in me.” And in what appeared to be a moment of self-reflection on his own life, he told the crowd, “You can’t be happy without religion—without that belief.”

In speaking with those who know him and have discussed this topic with him, I’ve come to believe that we should take this shift in him seriously and not be cynical about it.

But we must also ask whether the person who said this believes it. Really, really believes it. In his bones. In the deepest part of who he is.

If Trump truly believes that faith in God is what brings one true happiness, would he be on social media launching unprecedented attacks on the pope? If the kid from Queens really knew that he is loved beyond measure—loved in this unimaginable way before he accomplished even one single thing in his life—would he still need to build himself up by tearing his perceived enemies new metaphorical holes?

We are now weeks away from celebrating the 250th anniversary of a founding document that declared we are created equal by God. Our equality and value come from one source and one source alone: the way God made us. Nothing about our position, age, size, level of dependence, IQ, net worth, families, health, successes, or failures—nothing—can add to or take away from the intrinsic dignity that makes all human beings equal. We are loved with the unconditional love of a heavenly father for a child. And in the president’s case, a son.

What would Trump’s life (including, but not at all limited to, his presidency) look like if he really believed that he was loved in this way? Unconditionally, warts and all? If he knew that if he sincerely asked for forgiveness, the Peace that Christ offers all of us (and in a special way at this time of year) could be his? Would he feel the need to portray himself as a Christ figure, King of Kings, and spiritual healer, as he did in a post on his social media site, Truth Social, over the weekend?

I feel comfortable saying that he wouldn’t spend time on social media attacking the pope and others like this. Reasonable people, including faithful Catholics, can and do disagree with the pope on prudential policy matters. But a man at peace doesn’t feel the need to humiliate someone else when offering a different point of view.

Perhaps the most important thing a Christian should do in this context is wish something for Donald Trump, the person, the child of God, quite apart from Donald Trump the politician and president.

Donald, you’ve been used by Christian leaders and others in the faith who wanted to advance their own agendas through you. I’m genuinely sorry that your primary exposure to the faith and to Christians over the last decade has been like this. I want to genuinely invite you to put aside the wisdom of the world, which has made you and so many others anxious and angry. I want to genuinely invite you to embrace the unimaginable good news of the Cross and Resurrection. It turns the wisdom of the world on its head: we lead authentically when we put others before ourselves; the proper way to respond to our enemies is with love; we receive in direct proportion to what we give away; and it is in dying to self that we find who we truly are.

The peace that comes from this divine wisdom is what you are missing, Donald. You know this on some level. It is the only thing that truly satisfies and makes one truly happy.

Mr. President, Peace be with you.

***

Charles Camosy is a professor of moral theology and bioethics at the Catholic University of America.

Trump slammed the American-born Pope in a Truth Social post, calling him “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.”

“I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,” Trump said. “Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician.”

In a gaggle with reporters, the president piled on.

“I don’t think he’s doing a very good job. He likes crime I guess,” Trump said at Joint Base Andrews. “I’m not a big fan of Pope Leo. He’s a very liberal person.”

Reporter: Why did you attack Pope Leo?

Trump: I don’t think he’s doing a very good job. He likes crime I guess. We don’t like a pope who says it’s ok to have a nuclear weapon. We don’t want a pope that says crime is ok. I am not a fan of Pope Leo. pic.twitter.com/cj3oh1jSIL

— Acyn (@Acyn) April 13, 2026

Leo, on his way to Algeria to kick off an 11-day tour across Africa, pushed back.

“I have no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what the Church is here to do,” Leo told reporters aboard the papal plane. “We are not politicians. We don’t deal with foreign policy with the same perspective he might understand it, but I do believe in the message of the Gospel, as a peacemaker.”

In response to a personal attack by President Donald Trump the night before, Pope Leo told journalists on the papal plane to Algeria:

“I have no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what… pic.twitter.com/zV6FuacGSM

— Courtney Mares (@catholicourtney) April 13, 2026

The statements made by President Trump on Truth Social regarding the Pope were entirely inappropriate and disrespectful. They don’t contribute at all to a constructive conversation. It is the Pope’s prerogative to articulate Catholic doctrine and the principles that govern the…

— Bishop Robert Barron (@BishopBarron) April 13, 2026

Tensions between the White House and the Vatican have increased in recent weeks. On April 7, Pope Leo rebuked Trump’s Easter-Sunday threat against the Islamic Republic of Iran as “truly unacceptable.”

Leo has also criticized some of the Trump administration’s immigration policies, calling the treatment of migrants in the United States “extremely disrespectful.”

Trump’s broadside against the Pope followed a Sunday-night “60 Minutes” episode featuring prominent American cardinals, including Cardinal Joseph Tobin, who blasted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as a “lawless organization.”

“When they have to hide their identities to terrify people, when they can actually violate other guarantees of our Constitution and Bill of Rights, well, I think somebody’s got to call that out,” Tobin said.

Cardinal Joseph Tobin criticizes the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign.

“When they have to hide their identities to terrify people, when they can actually violate other guarantees of our Constitution and Bill of Rights, well, I think somebody’s got to call that… pic.twitter.com/vvLuOLej18

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) April 12, 2026

Conservative attorney Mike Davis, an ally of the Trump administration who grew up attending Catholic schools, called the Cardinal a “disgrace.”

“He’s taking the side of illegals who kidnap, rob, rape, and murder innocent Americans. And smearing the good men and women of federal immigration enforcement,” Davis said. “Trafficking illegals is a big moneymaker for the Catholic Church.”

This cardinal is a disgrace.

He’s taking the side of illegals who kidnap, rob, rape, and murder innocent Americans.

And smearing the good men and women of federal immigration enforcement.

Trafficking illegals is a big moneymaker for the Catholic Church. pic.twitter.com/KUg4FLrXmX

— 🇺🇸 Mike Davis 🇺🇸 (@mrddmia) April 13, 2026

Dasher Sharon Simmons, who wore a shirt that read “DoorDash Grandma,” walked up to the outside door of the Oval Office as cameras rolled and was greeted by the president.

“Nice to meet you. I have your DoorDash order for you, Mr. President,” Simmons said.

“Look at this. This doesn’t look staged, does it?” Trump quipped as reporters gathered to watch the food drop off and ask Trump questions during a quick press conference.

Simmons told Trump that she was surprised to receive a tax refund of over $11,000 this year thanks to the tax cuts passed in Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill.” The bill, which was passed the Republican-controlled Congress and signed into law by Trump last summer, allows Americans to deduct federal taxes on tips and overtime. Trump’s tax cuts gave many waiters, bartenders, and delivery drivers a massive boost in their 2025 refunds.

“You know, we call it the ‘Great, Big, Beautiful Bill’ — we should call it the ‘Great, Big, Beautiful Tax Cut Bill’ because it’s tremendous amounts of money,” Trump said. “And that’s on overtime, that’s also on social security, as you know.”

WATCH IN FULL: @POTUS receives a @DoorDash delivery to the Oval Office.

“I have your @DoorDash order for you, Mr. President!” pic.twitter.com/lwFHbHmYVk

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 13, 2026

Trump tipped the dasher $100 for the McDonald’s delivery. He also invited her into the Oval Office.

Photographer: Salwan Georges/Bloomberg via Getty Images

After dropping off the president’s McDonald’s order, Simmons told Fox News that Trump’s no tax on tips has helped her save up money after she and her husband were forced to spend much of their savings on her husband’s medical bills when he was diagnosed with stage-three cancer.

“As you know, going through treatments — even with insurance — you kind of break the bank,” Simmons said. “And we pretty much went through our savings, so when I found out about the no tax on tips, I was like this is incredible. You know, it’s not going to replace my life savings, but it’s going to help, certainly, with future doctor’s appointments and future things that we have going on. It means a lot.”

Simmons added that in 2025, half of her total earnings came through tips. Following the passage of the “Big, Beautiful Bill,” many seniors also qualified for an additional $6,000 in deductions on their 2025 tax returns. So far, the average tax refund for all Americans in the 2026 filing season has been over $3,600, up nearly 11% from last year’s refunds, according to IRS data.

The Trump administration is highlighting the president’s economic policies as the 2026 election season ramps up. Earlier this month, the White House celebrated a jobs report that showed a net gain of 178,000 jobs in March, more than tripling expectations.

On other economic fronts, however, Trump is taking a hit as the Iran war continues. The president faces criticism over rising gas and energy prices in the wake of his decision to launch “Operation Epic Fury.”

In addition, Reps. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL), and Cory Mills (R-FL) are facing scrutiny over various controversies of their own.

“Congress should not tolerate representatives who abuse staff, betray public trust for personal gain, and generally violate their oath of office,” Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) posted to X on Monday morning. “Reps. Swalwell, Gonzales, Cherfilus-McCormick, and Mills should resign. If they refuse, they should be expelled. Americans deserve better and Congress must hold our members accountable.”

Swalwell and Gonzales seem to be facing the most calls for expulsion, however, with Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) posting over the weekend that she’s exploring the possibility. Expulsion requires a two-thirds vote in the chamber in order to be successful, and only six individuals have been removed in history.

“I will be inquiring in the morning with the house parliamentarian to see if I can pair my motion to expel Eric Swalwell with Rep Tony Gonzalez. Both NEED to go,” the Florida Republican wrote on Sunday.

On Sunday night, she doubled down after Swalwell said that he was suspending his campaign to become California’s next governor, but stopped short of announcing his resignation from Congress.

“You broke House rules and are a predator. You have 24 hours to announce you are resigning. Both you and Tony are a disgrace,” Luna replied.

Multiple women have alleged sexual misconduct against Swalwell, and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is now looking into the allegations, as one reported assault occurred in New York City, according to NBC New York.

As for the ethics probe, the committee said in a statement on Monday afternoon that they will be examining whether he “violated the Code of Official Conduct or any law, rule, regulation, or other applicable standard of conduct in the performance of his duties or the discharge of his responsibilities, with respect to allegations that he may have engaged in sexual misconduct, including towards an employee working under his supervision.”

There seems to be a degree of bipartisan traction for the removals of both Swalwell and Gonzales, who had an affair with a staffer who later committed suicide.

“And Congressman Gonzales. I would,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) told “Meet the Press” on Sunday when asked if she would vote to remove Swalwell.

“I’ve already said that I think that these things, these charges and allegations and the pattern of abuse and in Congressman Gonzales’ case he actually admitted to the affair with the- or to the, you know, harassment with his staffer. This is also important for staffers across the Capitol to see that their bosses don’t get to do this to them,” she added.

However, not everybody is convinced that expulsion is the best route, especially for Gonzales and Mills.

“Democrats are attempting to lump together Gonzales and Mills in their censure push because their own member, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, is almost certain to face expulsion in the coming weeks,” a GOP aide granted anonymity in order to speak freely told The Daily Wire in a statement. “They are content throwing Swalwell to the wolves if it means they can drag Republicans through the mud with him.”

Speaker Mike Johnson has previously cautioned against expulsion as an action taken against members, including when former Rep. George Santos (R-NY) was expelled in 2023 prior to his fraud conviction. Santos’ sentence was later commuted by President Donald Trump.

“Yeah, we couldn’t block it. It was a privileged resolution, which means it gets to come to the floor within two days of filing. And it was a regrettable day,” Johnson said at the time. “You know, prior to yesterday, only five people had ever been expelled from Congress. Three were Confederates, two were convicted of federal charges. And George Santos has not been convicted in a court. You know, our party believes in the rule of law and due process, and we’re deeply concerned about preserving those things. And, you know, maybe he will be convicted by a jury of his peers, but that hasn’t happened yet. And that’s why we had reservations about it.”

Mills is currently under a House Ethics Committee investigation for a range of allegations from “sexual misconduct and/or dating violence” to allegedly not following “campaign finance laws and regulations in connection with his 2022 and 2024 election campaigns.”

Meanwhile, Cherfilus-McCormick is facing criminal charges for allegedly stealing $5 million in FEMA funds for her congressional campaign, and she was recently found guilty on allegations made at the House Ethics Committee level, Axios reported last month.

The chamber currently holds a narrow 217-214 Republican majority, which will expand to 218-214 once Republican Clay Fuller (R-GA) is sworn in.

Trump deleted the image from his Truth Social account on Monday morning after backlash from his Christian supporters, some of whom called the image “outrageous” and “blasphemous.”

“I did post it and thought it was me as a doctor and had to do with the Red Cross, as a Red Cross worker there, which we support,” Trump said. “Only the fake news could come up with that one. I just heard about it and said, ‘How did they come up with that?’ It’s supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better. And I do make people better.”

.@POTUS: “I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor, and had to do with Red Cross, as a Red Cross worker there, which we support… It’s supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better.” pic.twitter.com/90wyeq1uaa

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 13, 2026

The image showed Trump, dressed in a white tunic and red robe, appearing to heal a man in a hospital bed. It also showed a nurse looking up at Trump and another woman who appeared to be praying as she watched Trump heal the sick man. The image appears to have originated on social media in February when conservative social media personality Nick Adams shared it on X with the caption, “America has been sick for a long time. President Trump is healing this nation.”

Screenshot: Truth Social

Trump’s controversial post came shortly after the president’s spiritual adviser, Paula White, compared Trump’s civil and legal trials in recent years to what Jesus endured before dying on the cross.

“President, no one has paid the price like you have paid the price,” White said next to Trump during an Easter event at the White House. “It almost cost you your life. You were betrayed and arrested, and falsely accused. It’s a familiar pattern that our Lord and Savior showed us. But it didn’t end there for him, and it didn’t end there for you.”

Trump shared the image on Truth Social on Sunday night, less than one hour after he blasted Pope Leo XIV in another post, calling the pope “weak” and suggesting he didn’t deserve to be chosen for the position. The pope has been critical of Trump’s immigration policies and the military campaign against Iran.

If the incident is confirmed to be connected to Altman, it would mark the third violent episode in the past two weeks tied to the artificial intelligence company, following a separate incident in which a man allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail at Altman’s residence and threatened to burn down OpenAI’s headquarters.

San Francisco police said officers responded to Russian Hill and learned “that a vehicle with two occupants drove past a residence around the time of the possible shooting.” The San Francisco Standard reported that Altman’s security personnel alerted authorities after hearing the gunshot around 1:40 a.m. Sunday morning.

The license plate of the Honda sedan was caught on surveillance footage, which led police to 25-year-old Amanda Tom, who was at a residence in San Francisco with 23-year-old Muhamad Tarik Hussein. Both were detained by police and booked for negligent discharge. Officers seized three firearms from the home, and San Francisco Police told The Daily Wire that “although arrests have been made, this remains an open and active investigation.”

A spokesperson for OpenAI told The Daily Wire this was an unrelated incident with no indication of any connection to, or targeting of, Altman’s house.

Earlier this month, Indianapolis council member Rob Gibson’s front door was shot thirteen times and a note was left under the doormat that read “No Data Centers.”

The difference isn’t just in the tone — it’s in the fundamental understanding of what a “deal” actually looks like.

In 2015, John Kerry and former President Barack Obama’s administration operated on a philosophy of “delay.” As Tennessee GOP senator Bob Corker said to Kerry, “From my perspective, Mr. Secretary — I’m sorry — not unlike a hotel guest that leaves with only a hotel bathrobe on his back, I believe you have been fleeced.” Idaho GOP Senator Jim Risch echoed, “With all due respect, you guys have been bamboozled and the American people are going to pay.”

Kerry’s deal codified the industrialization of Iran’s nuclear program while leaving its ballistic missiles and terror proxies untouched. His strategy was to front-load billions in sanctions relief, effectively handing a “cash bonanza” to the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, and just hoping they’d play nice for a decade.

Fast-forward to last week in Pakistan. Vance didn’t go in looking for a “legacy” or a “breakthrough” based on hope. He went in to probe vulnerabilities. When Vance walked out of that 21-hour marathon, he didn’t leave with a handshake; he left with a “best and final offer” that demands the total dismantling of Iran’s enrichment facilities and an end to their regional terror spree. When Tehran balked, President Trump didn’t offer a “secret side deal” — he announced a complete U.S. naval blockade of all Iranian ports.

The core failure of the Kerry era was the assumption that Iran shared a mutual interest in regional stability. As then-Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) stated in a comprehensive essay attacking the agreement, “This deal empowers one of America’s most dangerous enemies and fundamentally weakens our security.”

President Trump has flipped the script. According to U.S. officials, the Islamabad talks revealed that the Iranian regime is delusional about its own standing. They walked into the room thinking they had leverage; they walked out realizing that the United States no longer considers their “nuclear ambitions” a subject for negotiation.

While Kerry was accused of “shadow diplomacy” and coaching the Iranians to “wait out” American resolve, the current administration has made it clear that time has run out.

The 2015 deal relied on “Section Q” — a weak inspection regime that gave Iran 24 days to cover its tracks. The 2026 red lines are unambiguous:

• Total cessation of all uranium enrichment.
• Dismantling of all major facilities.
• Zero funding for Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.
• Unrestricted access to the Strait of Hormuz with no “illegal” tolls.

In 2015, John Kerry gave away the store for a temporary pause. In 2026, the United States is telling Iran that if they want to keep control over the store, they have to stop trying to blow it up.

As Trump put it, the meeting proved one thing: Iran is unwilling to give up its ambitions. But unlike the previous era of disgraceful campaigns of fear, this administration is betting that a naval blockade and a dose of reality will achieve what years of Kerry’s shoddy inspections never could.

In a ruling Monday, U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles found that Trump failed to plausibly allege that the Journal acted with “actual malice,” the high legal standard required in defamation cases involving public figures. The judge dismissed the complaint without prejudice, allowing Trump to amend and refile the lawsuit.

Trump’s lawsuit was filed in July, just days after the Journal published a report describing a sexually suggestive letter it said bore Trump’s signature and was included in a 2003 birthday album compiled for Epstein by Ghislaine Maxwell. According to the report, the letter featured a drawing of a naked woman and included the message, “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.”

Trump has forcefully denied authoring the letter, insisting no such authentic document exists and calling the report “false, malicious, and defamatory.” In his original complaint, Trump argued the paper failed to provide proof of authenticity, did not include the full document at the time of publication, and could not verify how it was obtained.

Judge Gayles, however, wrote that Trump’s legal team did not meet the burden required to proceed with a defamation claim. Specifically, the complaint did not adequately show that the Journal knowingly published false information or acted with reckless disregard for the truth. The judge also pointed to the paper’s reporting process, noting that it sought comment from Trump prior to publication and included his denial in the story — a key factor in undercutting claims of actual malice.

Importantly, the court did not resolve whether the letter itself is authentic. Gayles made clear that questions about whether Trump authored the note or the nature of his relationship with Epstein are factual disputes that cannot be determined at this stage of litigation.

Separate forensic linguistic analysis previously reported by The Daily Wire has raised significant questions about the letter’s authenticity. Three independent AI systems, analyzing decades of Trump’s speeches, books, and written communications, concluded there was an “extremely low probability” that Trump authored the note. One report described a “fundamental and pervasive mismatch” between the letter and Trump’s known writing style, pointing to its abstract phrasing, theatrical dialogue format, and structured narrative elements.

The analyses found that the letter’s tone, including phrases like “may every day be another wonderful secret,” diverges sharply from Trump’s typically direct, blunt communication style. The presence of a scripted, almost stage-like format featuring imagined dialogue between “Donald” and “Jeffrey” was also flagged as highly inconsistent with Trump’s known patterns of speech and writing.

Even when prompted to argue in favor of Trump’s authorship, the AI systems were unable to produce strong linguistic evidence supporting that conclusion. Instead, they pointed primarily to circumstantial factors, such as Trump’s past association with Epstein, while maintaining that the writing itself did not match his established idiolect.

Despite those findings, the Journal has stood by its reporting, and its legal team argued in court that the article was accurate and therefore not defamatory. Attorneys also contended that the claims described in the report were not inconsistent with Trump’s public persona, further weakening the defamation argument.

The letter itself later became public after congressional investigators obtained Epstein’s so-called “birthday book” from his estate, adding another layer of scrutiny to the controversy. The White House has pushed back aggressively, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stating that it is “very clear” Trump neither drew nor signed the image described in the report.

Looking ahead, Trump has made clear he intends to continue the legal fight. In a post on Truth Social, he emphasized that the ruling was procedural rather than final, writing: “Our powerful case against The Wall Street Journal, and other defendants, was asked to be re-filed by the Judge. It is not a termination, it is a suggested re-filing, and we will be, as per the Order, re-filing an updated lawsuit on or before April 27th.” His legal team has similarly indicated plans to submit an amended complaint, setting up the next phase of what could become a prolonged legal battle.

The dismissal marks a notable moment in Trump’s broader effort to challenge media coverage through the courts, particularly as Epstein-related disclosures continue to reverberate through political and legal circles. While Trump’s legal team has vowed to refile what it called a “powerhouse lawsuit,” the ruling underscores the steep legal hurdles public figures face when attempting to prove defamation against major news organizations.

The 44-year-old singer has a scheduled court date of May 4. 

Spears was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol (DUI) in Ventura County, California, on March 4, as The Daily Wire previously reported. She was released the next day.

Her rep released a statement at the time, calling it an “unfortunate incident” and saying that it was “completely inexcusable.”

“Britney is going to take the right steps and comply with the law and hopefully this can be the first step in long overdue change that needs to occur in Britney’s life. Hopefully, she can get the help and support she needs during this difficult time,” the statement said. “Her boys are going to be spending time with her. Her loved ones are going to come up with an overdue needed plan to set her up for success for well being.”

The pop star shares two sons, Sean Preston, 20, and Jayden James, 19, with ex-husband Kevin Federline.

Spears was previously charged with a misdemeanor hit-and-run in 2007, which was later dismissed. She was hospitalized for a psychiatric evaluation the following year and was subsequently placed under a conservatorship overseen primarily by her father. That arrangement lasted 13 years before a judge terminated it in November of 2021, following the fan-led “Free Britney” movement. 

Since the conservatorship ended, the “Toxic” singer has remained active on social media — where a number of posts have drawn concern from fans, such as posting videos of herself dancing, often scantily clad and sometimes with knives. 

In recent months, Spears has been taking aim at her family in Instagram posts, claiming they’ve treated her poorly. Following her DUI arrest, she shared a post of herself spending time with her two sons, including a trip she took with them on a yacht in late March. 

The internet came down hard on Trudeau, 54, and Perry, 41. Trudeau was sporting a backwards hat and sneakers, while the couple walked hand in hand and drank from red Solo cups. 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by KATY PERRY (@katyperry)

“Trudeau went from Prime Minister to Coachella boyfriend in 12 months. That’s the fastest depreciation I’ve ever seen and I work in insurance,” one reply said. “Even a new car off the lot doesn’t lose value that fast.”

“Never been a better personification of the elite liberal left. Rich, sheltered, oblivious of the real world around them, devoid of any self awareness, the eternal theatre kids, forever teenagers living life with no consequences, while moralizing others,” another person wrote.

“Why did Trudeau just turn into a fratboy??” a third commenter wondered. 

Rumors of the two having a romantic relationship date back to last summer, when Trudeau and Perry were seen together in Montreal. Then, earlier this month, images of the couple kissing on her yacht started circulating on social media.

They were seen holding hands at a cabaret show at Crazy Horse Paris in late October, seemingly confirming their relationship status. Now Perry posted the photos of them getting cozy at Coachella on her official Instagram account.

Both were previously in long-term relationships, with Perry and actor Orlando Bloom breaking up in 2025 after almost a decade together and having a daughter in 2020. Trudeau and Sophie Grégoire separated in 2023 after 18 years of being married and having three children together.

The Bieber concert got mixed reviews beyond just the attendees. Fans accused the 32-year-old singer of putting in minimal effort, especially relative to other acts. The set was described as “sleepy,” especially compared to other performers who put on pyrotechnic and elaborate displays. 

Bieber sang with minimal props, and at one point sat at a table scrolling YouTube on a laptop while on stage, pulling up viral videos like “Deez Nuts” in addition to playing old videos of himself performing.

Perry joked about the performance too, posting a video to Instagram of herself in the crowd as Bieber scrolled his YouTube. “Thank God he’s premium,” she joked in the clip. “I don’t wanna see no ads.”

Multiple videos of the event started circulating on social media over the weekend. They show Carpenter sitting at a piano and reacting to that particular sound coming from the audience.

“Is that what you’re doing? I don’t like it,” the “Espresso” singer can be heard saying. 

The fan yelled back, “It’s my culture!”

Carpenter replied, “That’s your culture, is yodeling?” The person answered back, “It’s a call of celebration.” The singer still didn’t accept that premise, replying with a joking, “Is this Burning Man? What’s going on? This is weird.”

Something I’ve noticed about concerts post-covid (besides the exponentially higher ticket prices) is that audience member main character syndrome has gotten completely out of hand pic.twitter.com/lqnxNdmdwV

— Dr. Ben Braddock (@GraduatedBen) April 11, 2026

She later issued an apology after being attacked in the comments.

“My apologies, I didn’t see this person with my eyes and couldn’t hear clearly,” Carpenter wrote in an X post. “My reaction was pure confusion, sarcasm and not ill intended. Could have handled it better! Now I know what a Zaghrouta is! I welcome all cheers and yodels from here on out.”

This was said in response to a video post of the interaction, with the X user saying they were “very disappointed” in her.

“Sabrina saying that she doesn’t like a cultural arabic cheer… this is so insensitive and islamophobic,” the person wrote.

A community note was added to the post which said: “Zaghrouta (the ‘Arabic cheer’) is a pre-Islamic cultural expression of joy used by Arabs across religions, including Christians, at celebrations. It is not an Islamic practice, so Sabrina Carpenter’s reaction to the sound does not indicate islamophobia.”

Many commenters said they didn’t think it was worth apologizing for and wouldn’t appease the haters anyway.

“You have nothing to apologize for. If they’re disrupting your set, they’re disrupting your set,” one person observed.

“Wait, so if it has been a Bavarian guy in lederhosen yodeling that wouldn’t have been ok? Or is that ok? I’m confused,” another comment said.  “I thought that shouting during a soft moment of a performance made you an obnoxious a**hole — regardless of what you look like.”

Backlash is building after Utah Valley University announced last month that the supposedly “non-partisan” author Sharon McMahon would be speaking at graduation this year, drawing criticism from conservative students over her social media posts after Kirk’s death. Kirk was gunned down on September 10, 2025, while holding one of his popular campus events at the university in Orem, Utah. 

McMahon, who dubs herself “America’s Government Teacher,” is an educator who frequently focuses her criticism on the Trump administration and conservatives. Shortly after Kirk’s assassination, McMahon posted a series of out-of-context quotes from Kirk to explain why “there is so much backlash to posts eulogizing his death,” claiming that Kirk “was not a person who simply engaged in good-faith debates on college campuses” if you were black or Muslim. 

Local outlets have reported on the posts, which have since been deleted from social media. 

“It’s important to remember that the incredible tragedy of a public assassination does not erase the harm many experienced from his words and the ensuing actions his followers took,” McMahon wrote, according to a local CBS affiliate. 

After the university announced that McMahon would be speaking, the Turning Point USA chapter at Utah Valley University released a statement calling the move disappointing. 

“Hours immediately after Charlie’s assassination, Sharon McMahon posted a now deleted series of out-of-context quotes from Charlie in an effort to tarnish his name and minimize the tragedy, rather than offering condolences or condemning political violence,” chapter president Caleb Chilcutt said.

“There are countless better alternatives, and the fact that the university is choosing McMahon is entirely disappointing to all of us still reeling from his loss. I couldn’t be more disappointed in this university for such a hurtful and callous decision,” he added. 

Utah Senator Mike Lee weighed in on the issue, writing on X, “Who else thinks UVU should find another commencement speaker?”

The university did not respond to a request for comment from The Daily Wire, but previously told Deseret News that McMahon’s selection was “overwhelmingly positive” and “well received.”

***

When my husband and I got married just six years ago, AI was more the provenance of sci-fi than scenes from everyday life. Today, it’s everywhere. We use it for everything from meal prep to research to relationship advice and even actual relationships. So it should be no surprise that many couples admit to using large language models to help them write their wedding vows.

In a survey of over 200 engaged couples, “36% of respondents reported actively using AI in their wedding planning and 3 in 10 have used image-based AI tools for inspiration or planning,” reports wedding website The Knot. “In last year’s 2025 Wedding Trends to Watch Report, we found that only 20% were using AI, pointing to the growing relevance of AI in the industry.”

And while AI can be a useful planning tool, the red flag appeared when an undisclosed number of those using it said they had it give them pointers for their wedding-vow writing. This has been happening for at least a few years: A 2023 article from CNN proclaimed, “Couples are using ChatGPT to write their wedding vows.”

The piece opened with Elyse Nguyen, a young woman who said she worked with AI to craft her wedding vows — with her future husband’s blessing. “It helped alleviate some stress because I had no prior experience with wedding vows nor did I know what should be included,” Nguyen said.

In an article from Cosmopolitan just last month, U.K.-based wedding celebrant Eleanor Willock claimed, “I see every one of my couples’ vows before their wedding day. I’d say around 30% this year have involved AI.”

Now, there are countless options for future brides and grooms struggling with writer’s block. The website Toastie.ai promises to help brides capture their “love story in vows as beautiful and unique as your relationship — without any stress.” Wedding.One has an AI vow generator that lets you input names and relationship details and select the appropriate length and tone. I put a few bits of information about my husband and me in, and the results were comical.

“Today I take you as my husband, promising to cherish our moments, from cooking together in our kitchen, to hosting friends with laughter and joy,” the vows began. “I vow to support you, to share in your dreams, and to fill our lives with the warmth of indie and folk music that echoes our love.”

Well, at least AI won’t be monopolizing wedding vows anytime soon. 

I also tried Google Gemini, without offering too much information about our relationship. The results were generic, clichéd, and boring.

“[Fiancé’s Name], standing here with you today feels like the best decision I’ve ever made,” it started. “Over our time together, you have become my greatest adventure and my safest place. We’ve done so much growing up together, and I feel incredibly lucky that I get to spend the rest of my life watching us continue to grow side-by-side.”

It went on, suggesting lines about being “your biggest cheerleader and your softest landing,” promising good communication (widely believed to be the most important element of a relationship, don’t you know), and forecasting “fun” and “friendship” and “laughter.”

It’s not likely that anyone is taking vows straight from AI at its first effort, but the fact that so many people are now relying on it for such a sacred task raises several concerns. Most obviously, doesn’t asking your friendly neighborhood LLM for help indicate that you just weren’t willing to take the time and concentration to express how you, and only you, really feel? Imagine Jane Austen’s “Persuasion,” but instead of his desperately romantic letter, Captain Wentworth copies a Rupi Kaur poem and calls it a day.

But beyond the clear issues with farming out your love letters to robots, there is a solution here that would make the stress of vow-writing and the temptation of an AI boost totally irrelevant. And that solution is traditional vows, the ones couples have been repeating for hundreds of years.

I grew up in the Anglican church and I had an Anglican wedding, so all I had to do was grab my Book of Common Prayer to remember what my husband and I pledged to each other: “In the Name of God, I, [my name], take you, [my husband’s name], to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death, according to God’s holy Word. This is my solemn vow.”

Some older vows say “I plight thee my troth,” which is old-timey for “I pledge to be faithful to you.” As one Episcopal rector explains it, “The man and the woman are each saying to the other, ‘I promise, with all that I am, to be true to you; I stake my honor, my integrity — my troth — on keeping these vows.’”

No “I promise to put down the toilet seat” and no “I promise only to use your credit card on days that end in y.” A wedding ceremony isn’t the time to be glib; you’re making a lifelong commitment before God, your family, and your community. The jokes can come later at the reception — when everyone has had too much to drink and they’ll land better anyway. As for the sweet memories and shared stories, there’s a place for them too: in letters exchanged before the ceremony or toasts throughout the wedding weekend.

A marriage is not just about the couple entering into it but also the institution itself and the couple’s vows to God and their community. The ceremony is not the time for bespoke statements. It is the time to pledge fidelity to each other in the same way as countless couples before you. And that’s something AI can’t even attempt to replace.

“60 Minutes” anchor Norah O’Donnell noted that Pope Leo XIV had “issued a rare condemnation of President Trump’s threat to destroy Iranian civilization,” adding, “The Pope called it ‘truly unacceptable.’ He also took the unusual step of issuing a call to action.”

She pointed out that in a Palm Sunday homily, the Pope appeared to reference the religious language used by War Secretary Pete Hegseth to frame the Iran war, warning that Jesus does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war. She then asked, “Is this a just war?”

Washington, D.C., Cardinal Robert McElroy replied bluntly, “No. Under Catholic teaching, this is not a just war. Catholic faith teaches us that there are certain prerequisites for a just war. You can’t go for a variety of different aims. You have to have a focused aim, which is to restore justice and restore peace. That’s it.”

“Iran has been the chief exporter of terror. Is there no scenario in which preventing that can be a just war?” O’Donnell pressed.

“It’s an abominable regime. And it should be removed,” McElroy answered. “But this is a war of choice that we went to, and I think it’s embedded in a wider moment in the United States that’s worrying, which is this: We’re seeing before us the possibility of war after war after war.”

“We’re dehumanizing the victims of war by turning the suffering of people and the killing of children and our own soldiers into entertainment,” Cardinal Blaise Cupich of Chicago claimed.

“You called it sickening,” O’Donnell interjected.

“It is sickening,” he replied. “To splice together movie cuts with actual bombing and targeting of people for the purposes of entertainment is sickening. This is not who we are. We’re better than this.”

In March, McElroy, a frequent critic of the president, stated that the U.S. war against Iran was not a morally legitimate conflict “because our country was not responding to an existing or imminent and objectively verifiable attack by Iran. … The criterion of right intention is not met in our country’s decision to attack Iran. … our current war effort does not meet Catholic just war teaching because it is far from clear that the benefits of this war will outweigh the harm which will be done.”

Not quite.

Since Landers (the pen name of columnist Ruth Crowley starting in 1947 and later Esther Lederer starting in 1955) got her start, Americans have entered the nuclear age, hit a golf ball on the moon, invented meatless meat, and popularized cat memes. Clearly, we are advancing at a spectacular rate and using technology in ever more innovative ways to advance civilization.

Which brings us to our relationships with each other, specifically men and women.

After we acknowledge that young men and women aren’t exactly living their best lives in the relationship sphere — with only 31% of the rising generation actively dating, according to a comprehensive report from the Institute for Family Studies released in February — the next question is: why?

Ann Landers might say there isn’t enough good old-fashioned guidance out there: Who is helping these youngsters find their true love? Who is giving them confidence and fine-tuning the skills necessary to both present oneself to the opposite sex and to realize what qualities and character a young man, let’s say, is looking for in a girlfriend and, hopefully, someday, a wife?

Fear not! The answer is on any laptop or cellphone, in the very doomscrolling that is preventing people from going on actual dates in the first place. Wait, what?

Men are being catfished into dubious relationship advice by AI slop bots.

There is a burgeoning industry lurking in young men’s social media algorithms, promising relationship advice that will lead to the perfect woman. All that’s needed is a credit card and internet access. Instagram and Facebook (both Meta products) have pages devoted to “relationship coaches” geared toward young men stuck in singledom. The pitch from these relationship gurus is eerily similar, as is the aesthetic of these so-called “experts.” You’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all, with slight variations for the sake of the proprietary nature of the advice. Long, slightly tousled hair, a sculpted nose, pursed and plumped lips, unblinking eyes, and tops cut to be professional yet provocative, showing off and enhancing bronzed, uplifting orbital assets. Remember, these are pages designed to bait young and lonely men. They consist of talking points that sound more like a cross between a low-rent Kahlil Gibran, Rumi, and Stuart Smalley. The pages offer clips that draw men in by massaging their disaffection and assuring them that it’s not their fault they’re single; it’s that the women are no good!

One alluring young woman is Georgia Sterling, who offers this golden nugget of truth: “The same woman who holds the power to elevate your life or completely destroy it is the one you are told you cannot evaluate. And the moment you do, the labels come back at you and suddenly you are called sexist just for thinking critically. This is not random; it is a strategy designed to weaken men’s ability to think clearly and make strong decisions. Because a man without critical thinking becomes easier to control and easier to manipulate and much easier to silence. So men, do not lose your masculinity and do not allow anyone to take away your voice or your right to choose wisely, you are the pillar of society … I offer private, personalized analysis. Link in bio.”

That’s a lot of weighty word salad offering little more than a nod to the Little Rascals’ He-Man Woman Haters Club. Make sure your Venmo information is available.

These relationship-advice experts, who all appear on various unnamed podcasts, have no online record of being podcast guests. They link back to Facebook or personal Linktree pages. When I sent an inquiry to the intriguing Ivanka Hilton, there was no response. Shortly after my Direct Message, Ivanka (who, unsurprisingly, sported long blonde hair and plenty of gaudy jewelry) disappeared. In a subsequent search, other Ivanka Hiltons popped up, but with no activity — yet.

All of this could be dismissed as the growing prevalence of benign AI slop if it weren’t for the disturbing trend of young people struggling to pair up and using these AI “experts” as crutches to nurse their grievances and find excuses to stay home and remain perpetually online. It can be hard to search for a mate when a loud segment of the culture looks down on healthy, monogamous relationships, marriage, and having kids. It’s hard to be vulnerable and risk being hurt or rejected. The easy thing is to stay home, stay online, and listen to the first “girl” who reassures young men that this is okay! You just have high standards! Besides, women either don’t understand your particular masculine needs or they’re going to deceive or cheat on you anyway! (That’ll be $29.99, please.)

Worse, these AI models are perpetuating isolating behaviors, rather than offering a way into a relationship for young men who already tend to avoid “real-life” relationships and are looking for reassurance that that lifestyle is perfectly acceptable.

A March study published in Science examined the sycophantic behavior of AI models in response to people seeking advice on interpersonal and social dilemmas. Stanford University computer scientists showed that AI large language models (LLMs) are overly sycophantic when users solicit advice. According to the Stanford report, “By default, AI advice does not tell people that they’re wrong nor give them ‘tough love,’” said Myra Cheng, the study’s lead author and a computer science PhD candidate. “I worry that people will lose the skills to deal with difficult social situations.” Further, the reinforcing responses were deemed “more trustworthy and indicated they were more likely to return to the sycophant AI for similar questions, the researchers found. When discussing their conflicts with the sycophant, they also grew more convinced they were in the right.”

These young men are being drawn into a world where they can be comforted by a fake beauty who tells them what they want to hear, reinforces their antisocial tendencies, and alienates real women, who are actually the thing these men need most to find purpose, fulfillment, and a life outside the unblinking eye of the virtual world.

What would Ann Landers say about that? You can ask her. She’s now set up as an LLM, trained on her 47 years of advice and published columns. On second thought, go out for coffee and think about it. You might meet someone.

The image showed Trump, dressed in a white tunic and red robe, healing a man in a hospital bed as people around Trump looked on in adoration and prayer. The image appears to have originated on social media in February when conservative social media personality Nick Adams shared it on X with the caption, “America has been sick for a long time. President Trump is healing this nation.”

Screenshot: Truth Social

The image was a step too far in the minds of many of his Christian supporters, who often defend the president’s unconventional social media tactics. Many of Trump’s Christian supporters urged the president to take it down, with some Christians calling the image “blasphemous.”

“I assume someone has already told him, but it behooves the President both spiritually and politically to delete the picture, no matter the intent,” wrote Daily Wire host Michael Knowles.

“I don’t know if the President thought he was being funny or if he is under the influence of some substance or what possible explanation he could have for this OUTRAGEOUS blasphemy,” said Megan Basham, “But he needs to take this down immediately and ask for forgiveness from the American people and then from God.”

The Daily Wire reached out to the White House for comment.

Trump posted the image less than one hour after he blasted Pope Leo XIV in another social media post, calling the pope “weak” and suggesting he didn’t deserve to be chosen for the position. The pope has been critical of Trump’s immigration policies and the military campaign against Iran.

“God does not bless any conflict. Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs,” Pope Leo said last week. “Military action will not create space for freedom or times of #Peace, which comes only from the patient promotion of coexistence and dialogue among peoples.”

In his Palm Sunday message last month, Pope Leo also said that Jesus “rejects war” and “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war.”

Trump responded to the pope’s comments Sunday evening, writing, “I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do, setting Record Low Numbers in Crime, and creating the Greatest Stock Market in History.”

“Leo should be thankful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise,” Trump added. “He wasn’t on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump.”

Fourteen states and the District of Columbia have joined “A Home for Every Child,” The Daily Wire can first report, a bipartisan initiative of HHS’ Administration for Children and Families. The program seeks to rectify the massive gap in licensed foster homes for children in the United States — for every 100 children in care, there are only 57 licensed foster homes. HHS has been working to close that gap.

The District of Columbia, Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Nebraska, Rhode Island, and Iowa have each committed to organizing their child welfare systems around this 57 to 100 metric, to change the national metric to a one to one ratio.

Oklahoma joined first, in February, and was the first state to have its “Program Improvement Plan” approved by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Kentucky quickly followed and already have their “Program Improvement Plans” both negotiated and approved, ACF said.

“When we don’t have enough homes for those children, they get placed in non-traditional settings that are not conducive to long-term growth and development of the child,” explained Assistant Secretary Alex Adams in a phone interview with The Daily Wire. The kids get placed in hotels, Airbnbs, or other care settings which are known to be locations of vulnerability. “So we need to increase nationally the ratio of homes to kids.” 

The Home Every Child Campaign will reduce red tape and paperwork and other onerous requirements, but a major part of the endeavor is that the states involved will report back to HHS with data much more frequently, Adams explained. That will help HHS understand which states are taking action to help foster kids in an appropriate and safe way.

The move builds on the executive order that President Donald Trump signed in November. First Lady Melania Trump’s Fostering the Future Executive Order focused on improving foster care outcomes.

“This is the manifestation of that,” Adams said. He described an “unbelievable, bipartisan response [from] both red and blue states.” 

“I think that’s a testament to the executive order, the vision that First Lady Melania Trump had in particular, the concrete objectives of both improving data transparency as well as reducing administrative burdens since a lot of the federal requirements in the past just zap time and energy from productive activities.” 

The Administration for Children and Families will be releasing public scorecards displaying each state’s metrics in the coming months, HHS shared with The Daily Wire. That will include the foster home to child ratio, meaning that for the first time, this data will be available at the national level.

One aspect that has impacted homes for foster care children, particularly under President Joe Biden’s administration, was ideological requirements for foster parents. In Vermont, for example, parents who espoused Christian views on gender ideology were blocked from fostering children in need, even though the state desperately needed foster parents.

“I’ve never talked to a state child welfare director who said their biggest issue was they had too many families going to foster, and in fact it’s the exact opposite,” Adams said, asked about this point. “Like I said, we’ve got a nationwide shortage of foster families, so the message that we send to prospective foster parents is so critical.”

Statistically, he pointed out, members of houses of worship are the “most likely to raise their hands and volunteer and want to pursue license as a foster family.” The message that is sent to Christian families willing to be foster parents is extremely important, he noted, as it can either attract or detract from that goal of a one to one ratio. 

“The policy certainly does play a role, and I think what excites us about this is we’re gonna get monthly data on each of these states that’s participating, what the ratio of homes to kids is, and I think we’ll separate the wheat from the chaff pretty quickly,” he added. “We’ll see some states doing well, we’ll see some states not doing well, and I think by bringing some transparency to it, increasing the frequency of the data will help inform which policies either facilitate or indeed foster family recruitment and retention.” 

To be clear, and to prevent him from running off with this headline, I am not even slightly vindicating Gavin Newsom. California’s fraud problem is massive and almost entirely Newsom’s fault…but not entirely. The same industrial-scale homecare fraud networks making headlines in California also exist, to a lesser extent, in every other state.

There are slight variations in laws and procedures between states, but the scam has worked essentially the same way nationwide for over a decade. Here’s how it usually works.

First, to provide homecare you need to create a company and submit the proper paperwork to Medicaid, which makes sure you meet the requirements, but nobody seems to be checking this paperwork closely. Fraudsters in Georgia, Florida, and Missouri have been busted running their companies under stolen identities and nursing licenses for years.

Next, you need patients. To get patients, they usually must get a doctor’s referral certifying that they need homecare because of some disability or injury. This is an easily overcome obstacle. High-profile busts in Louisiana, California, Florida, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Michigan, just to name a few, have found that scammers bribe doctors with kickbacks to write unnecessary referrals.

Now that the patient has their doctor’s note, they can choose a homecare company themselves or be assigned one by the state’s relevant authorities or medical professionals. Patients of scammers are often paid kickbacks. Many pick their family members or spouses to provide the homecare. In one particularly massive scheme, residents of Washington, D.C. got their entire extended family together to bilk Medicaid of $80 million, spending it on mansions and sports cars. If it’s not a family business, though, you can always bribe “patient marketers” for clients, buy a roster of existing patients from another recently busted fraudster, or get a list of stolen identities on the homecare black market.

Bribery is a theme. In a government marketplace with fixed prices, as always, the only way to compete in homecare is by doing it under the table.

Now that you have patients, you just need qualified people to provide the care and patients’ signatures to verify it. This step of the process is basically a joke. In Virginia, a company was caught trading cash for stacks of blank, signed patient certification forms. In Alaska, a woman pretended her whole family was working for her homecare company and billed fake hours for each of them. In Utah, workers were instructed to sit in their cars outside the house after jobs to maximize billing hours. Some homecare scammers have been caught because they’re working full-time jobs while supposedly doing homecare work, as in Montana and Nebraska. Others have been busted for brazenly requesting payment for more than 24 hours of work in a single day, as in Illinois and New Mexico. Not only were they paid the full amount for these requests, but it also took years for anyone to notice.

Every step of the homecare process can be, and is, easily defrauded, and while California is one of the worst, they’re far from alone.

You’d be hard-pressed to find any state where a quick look through Medicaid spending data doesn’t reveal at least one seedy office building hosting a dozen homecare companies billing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars per month to do basic household tasks for a suspiciously small number of patients. And, as with the Armenians in California and the Somalis in Minnesota, the companies in these Medicaid clusters are usually owned almost exclusively by immigrants from one or two countries in East Asia, the Middle East, or Africa.

Gavin Newsom is doing nothing to put out the fire (double entendre intended) but he didn’t start it, and nearly every other state has a little homecare-fraud fire of its own that our institutions, built around a high-trust society, simply aren’t equipped to handle.

***

Parker Thayer is an investigative researcher at Capital Research Center. 

The California Democrat on Sunday suspended his gubernatorial campaign as he battles several allegations of sexual misconduct and rape. Swalwell insisted he was innocent of the charges, but apologized to his family and supporters “for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past.”

Whether that is a tacit admission of infidelity — and whether or not it leads Swalwell to resign from Congress — remains to be seen. But in the meantime, the embattled Democrat has yet another scandal to address.

The Department of Homeland Security confirmed on Sunday that a federal investigation into Swalwell deals in part with allegations that he illegally employed a Brazilian au pair after her work authorization expired in 2022. And on Monday morning, the New York Post reported on a second DHS probe into allegations that Swalwell illegally paid the au pair, Amanda Barbosa, with campaign cash.

The complaint alleges that Barbosa received $52,262 from Swalwell’s campaign from 2021-2022. Campaign filings classify those payments as “Childcare for Campaign Event,” while “corresponding weekly childcare reimbursements were taken by Eric Swalwell from the campaign in matching amounts.” The campaign further notes that, though payments to Barbosa stopped in 2023 and 2024, social media photos from the time showed her frequently with the Swalwell family and caring for their children, indicating she was working for them illegally.

By 2025, Barbosa was back on the Swalwell campaign payroll, earning $38,905 last year.

Swalwell’s childcare imbroglio has been brewing for years. In 2022, the Washington Free Beacon reported that the Democrat had requested the Federal Election Commission allow him to spend campaign cash on nannies to watch his children while he attended overseas junkets. Critics slammed Swalwell and his wife, a hotel executive, for spending campaign cash on childcare, a luxury others can’t afford. The move also raised eyebrows, given Swalwell’s history of attending swanky foreign junkets in places like Qatar, and his relationship with a Chinese spy.

In 2023, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust alleged in a complaint that Swalwell’s use of campaign funds to pay for childcare after Election Day may have run afoul of campaign finance rules, considering the campaign was over.

At least four women have accused Swalwell of sexual misconduct in recent days. Democrat influencer Ally Sammarco says Swalwell sent her unsolicited nude photos over Snapchat. One of the congressman’s former staffers alleges that he raped her in 2024 on two separate occasions. And a video circulating on social media shows Swalwell forcibly kissing an alleged sex worker, leading many to suspect the congressman has more skeletons in his closet.

A number of Swalwell’s staffers have headed for the exits while condemning their boss, and many of the congressman’s allies scrambled to pull their endorsements of his gubernatorial campaign and condemn his actions. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) pulled his endorsement, as did Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), one of Swalwell’s closest allies. California’s powerful teacher’s union pulled its endorsement, as did the entirety of Democrat House leadership, who also called for an investigation into Swalwell’s actions.

In a press release obtained exclusively by The Daily Wire, Paxton’s office confirmed it has issued a Civil Investigative Demand as part of a broader probe into whether Lululemon has accurately represented the health impacts, safety standards, and material composition of its clothing. The company, which generated more than $11 billion in fiscal year 2025, markets itself heavily around wellness, sustainability, and performance — branding that Paxton suggested may not align with emerging concerns.

“Americans should not have to worry if they are being deceived when trying to make healthy choices for themselves and their families,” Paxton said. “I will not allow any corporation to sell harmful, toxic materials to consumers at a premium price under the guise of wellness and sustainability.”

At the center of the investigation are PFAS, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a class of synthetic chemicals widely referred to as “forever chemicals” due to their extreme resistance to breaking down in the environment or the human body. According to researchers at Yale School of Public Health, PFAS have been used in consumer and industrial products since World War II, often for their water-resistant, stain-resistant, and non-stick properties, qualities commonly associated with performance apparel.

That same durability, however, is what makes PFAS potentially dangerous. Experts warn the chemicals can accumulate over time in the human body, persisting in blood, liver, and kidneys for years. Studies have linked PFAS exposure to a wide range of health risks, including certain cancers, liver toxicity, reduced fertility, immune system suppression, and developmental issues.

“PFAS are often called ‘forever chemicals’ because they contain an exceptionally strong carbon-fluorine bond, which makes them highly resistant to breakdown,” Yale epidemiology chair Vasilis Vasiliou explained. “As a result, they persist in the environment for decades or longer.”

Paxton’s investigation will specifically examine whether Lululemon’s products contain PFAS that consumers would not reasonably expect based on the company’s marketing. It will also scrutinize the company’s internal safety standards, testing protocols, and supply chain practices to determine whether its products comply with its own stated guidelines.

The probe comes amid growing scrutiny of PFAS contamination nationwide. Federal regulators only recently began setting enforceable limits on certain PFAS chemicals in drinking water, though those standards have already faced rollbacks and legal challenges. Meanwhile, consumer awareness has surged, with increasing concern about the presence of these chemicals in everyday products, including clothing.

While the investigation is still in its early stages, it signals a broader shift toward holding companies accountable for how they market “health-conscious” products, particularly when underlying materials may tell a different story.

Worth noting, Paxton is currently locked in a high-profile Republican primary runoff against John Cornyn (R-TX) for a U.S. Senate seat. His investigation also aligns with a broader push inside the Trump administration to crack down on environmental toxins in consumer products. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made similar issues a priority at HHS, including a recent joint initiative with the EPA targeting microplastics, which regulators have begun categorizing alongside PFAS as emerging public health risks.

For now, the outcome of the investigation remains unclear. But as scrutiny around PFAS intensifies, companies built on wellness branding may increasingly find themselves under the microscope.

In a late-night Truth Social blitz Sunday, the president branded the pope “WEAK” on crime and “terrible” on foreign policy. Around 40 minutes after his tirade was posted, Trump uploaded an AI-generated image of himself dressed as Jesus. Both posts dropped as Catholics were celebrating Divine Mercy Sunday and Eastern Orthodox Christians were celebrating Easter.

Last week, Pope Leo said Trump’s warning that an “entire civilization will die tonight,” in reference to Iran, was “unacceptable.” The pope has also suggested that a “delusion of omnipotence” is fueling the war between the United States and Iran.

“I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA,” the president blasted. “He gets it, and Leo doesn’t!”

Pope Leo responded to Trump’s threats on Monday, telling reporters, “I have no fear of the Trump administration, or speaking out loudly of the message of the gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what the Church is here to do.” He added, “I don’t want to get into a debate with Trump.”

Trump later wrote: “If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.” He added: “Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician.”

Criticism of a pope falls within the bounds of political and public discourse. Depicting oneself as the Lord Jesus Christ, however, enters into territory Christians have consistently regarded as blasphemous.

The backlash has been swift, including from many who would typically be supportive. Here’s a smattering of social media reactions:

“Honestly how did he think this was a good move?!?”

“He’s absolutely lost it. He’s become everything the left said he was. Makes me wonder if I was just blind to it.”

“He has now confirmed his own defeat- the Lord will not be mocked.”

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.”

Now, if I may make a personal request.

As one of those Christians who believe what President Trump has posted is blasphemous, I would ask you to pray for him.

And not only for him, but for all blasphemers.

New media post from Donald J. Trump

(TS: 12 Apr 21:49 ET)​​​‍​​‌‍​​‌‍​​​​​​​‌‍​​​​‌‍​​​​​​​​​​‌‍​​​​​‌‍​​​​​​​​​‌‍​​​​​​​​​‌‍​​​​​‌‍​​​​​​​​‌‍​​​‌‍​​​​​​‌‍​​‌‍​​​​​‌‍​​​​​​​​​​‌‍​​​​​​​‌‍​​​​​‌‍ pic.twitter.com/uWUoEG1bSQ

— Commentary: Trump Truth Social Posts On X (@TrumpTruthOnX) April 13, 2026

“I really want to see Iran defeated militarily,” Friedman admitted, acknowledging that the regime is “terrible” for its people and the region. But the “enlightened” foreign policy dean immediately hit a wall of his own making. “The problem is I really don’t want to see Bibi Netanyahu or Donald Trump politically strengthened by this war because they are two awful human beings.”

For Friedman, the prospect of two democratically elected leaders—whom he smeared as “alleged crooks” and “terrible, terrible people”—achieving a geopolitical victory is apparently a fate worse than the continued survival of the Ayatollahs.

Don’t want Iran to lose if it means Trump wins. @TomFriedman of @NYTimes really wants “to see Iran defeated militarily because this regime is a terrible regime for its people and the region,” but on CNN’s @Smerconish he fretted “the problem is I really don’t want to see Bibi… pic.twitter.com/rgPngGXkGc

— Brent Baker 🇺🇲🇺🇦 🇮🇱 (@BrentHBaker) April 11, 2026

The Left would rather watch the world burn than allow their political opponents to claim a win. Friedman’s obsession with Netanyahu isn’t a new development; it’s a long-documented fixation that frequently veers into the deranged.

Friedman has been railing against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for years; he has denounced the concept of Israel’s presence in Judea and Samaria (the so-called “West Bank”), calling Israeli settlements a “cancer for the Jewish people.”

After President Trump announced that he was going to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, Friedman slammed the decision, saying the United States should have demanded concessions from Netanyahu before committing to the move. In 2023, as a historic normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia loomed, Friedman didn’t see an opportunity for Middle East stability. Instead, he wrote a column encouraging the Saudis to snub the deal because he deemed Netanyahu’s right-wing government “not normal.”

Friedman’s rhetoric has often crossed the line from policy critique into personal vilification. As the Algemeiner pointed out, he has previously likened Netanyahu to a “dog” and an “alcoholic,” echoing tropes that are deeply offensive in the Middle Eastern context. He famously justified the Obama administration’s condescension toward Israel by stating, “friends don’t let friends drive drunk,” even while that same administration was busy sending billions in sanctions relief to Tehran.

Friedman represents a pundit class that views the world through a narrow straw of personal grievance. To him, the “physics” of Middle East peace are a game of tic-tac-toe that only he can solve, yet his solution is always the same: marginalize the conservative leaders he despises, even if it means leaving a vacuum for real monsters to fill.

Friedman’s loathing for Trump and Netanyahu has become his primary North Star, overriding even the desire to see a murderous regime in Iran brought to its knees. If a victory for the West means a victory for his political enemies, Friedman would apparently rather the West didn’t win at all.

This is the latest sentiment from our culture-deniers. They excuse their hatred, disdain, and active dismembering of our nation by claiming we’re on stolen land with nothing of our own worth defending. They are dead wrong.

To understand American culture, one first has to understand how it took root — and why it could only have happened here. In 1776, with the help of God, the Bible, an esteemed moral compass, a fiery yearning for freedom, and the long memory of what tyranny looks like, our Founders granted independence to the United States of America.

They did something no people in history had ever done: they created a nation not by inheritance or conquest, but by deliberate choice and reflection. As John Adams wrote in 1776, Americans were among “the first people whom heaven has favored with an opportunity of deliberating upon, and choosing the forms of government under which they should live.” George Washington called the republican model “an experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.” Benjamin Franklin, stepping out of the Constitutional Convention, famously answered a woman asking what had been produced: “A republic, madam — if you can keep it.”

America became the first modern republic explicitly grounded in natural rights, limited government, and biblical morality. This was rare. Unique. A risk. And it paid off spectacularly.

While Europe was dominated by monarchies and the Old World was bound by inherited hierarchy and colonial absolutism, people in the West were sitting down to create a creed-based nation. Soon, anyone could become an American by embracing the ideas of 1776, rejecting Old World hierarchies, and building a culture of opportunity, personal responsibility, and generosity.

Today, America remains the greatest country in the world — the freest, most prosperous, most decent, and most opportunity-rich society on earth — where individuals of any background can still become the architect of their own destiny through hard work, faith, and the unalienable rights endowed by their Creator. The United States still produces over a quarter of the entire world’s wealth with just 4% of its population. Freedom of speech and religion remain sacred — 81% of Americans say speech should be protected “at all costs.” Our military remains the most powerful force for good in history, deterring tyrants and keeping the global order stable so freedom can flourish. She leads the planet in innovation, patents, and Nobel prizes, and offers the ordinary person the highest standard of living anywhere in the world.

Her success proves the Founders’ creed-based experiment in self-government under God continues to deliver more liberty and human flourishing than any other nation in history. 

America was, and remains, the rarest and most exceptional thing in political history.

The United States is where people come to live a better life. That is why non-Americans are clamoring to get inside the minute they get the chance. But according to many on the Left (and some on the Right), America doesn’t have a culture. I beg to differ.

To me, American culture is playing in the yard with neighbors, running home when Mom calls you for dinner, saying prayers before a meal and before bed, church on Sunday, working hard and playing harder, football, freedom, hot dogs, friends, family, traveling, sharing laughter, and being able to do and say whatever the hell you want. If our culture had a theme song, Rascal Flatts’ “Fast Cars and Freedom” would play well.

But that is what is so incredible about this nation: American culture can look different to everyone. For some, it means never settling down, hitchhiking across all 50 states, starting a travel business, making millions, and donating a portion to the charity of your choice. For others, it means falling in love with whoever you want, raising a family, choosing how and where they grow up, living on a small plot of land, going to work, and tending a garden. It can mean choosing burgers, pasta, tacos, or sushi for dinner. It can mean flying to space with your fellow astronauts and reaching farther than any human being has ever gone before. It can mean choosing to serve your country at age 17, fighting our enemies abroad, and defending our sacred freedoms at home. It can mean losing everything and starting from scratch after hitting rock bottom. It’s Girl Scout cookies, space expeditions, bloody hockey champions wearing the American flag — it’s being immensely proud of our nation, despite its flaws. American culture is perfect and imperfect. It’s customizable to oneself.

John Adams wrote that he had to study politics and war so that his children could study mathematics and philosophy, so that their children could study painting and poetry. That inheritance is ours. We are the generation he was writing for, and we are lucky enough to live inside the culture he made possible.

Yet universally, it is a culture that protects natural rights, rewards merit and hard work through the freest markets on earth, and safeguards the freedoms of speech and religion that no other society has ever guaranteed at this scale. It would behoove us to remember what our martyred American champion Charlie Kirk said about this culture — the culture of the American settler: faith-driven, family-centered, entrepreneurial, and generous, born from people who fled oppression to build something better under God. It is a culture of opportunity and virtue. And this has cultivated the most innovative, charitable, and upwardly mobile society ever known, where immigrants still pour in because nowhere else lets the ordinary man rise so far on talent and effort alone.

So when you ask, “What is American culture?” Put simply, it is living proof that the rarest political experiment in history actually worked.

My culture cultivates greatness. To be American is to know that, feel it in your bones, and wake up every day grateful for it.

As I write this from my deck — sun on my face, country music in my ears, the Capitol standing tall before me — I am reminded that none of this was an accident. It was built, fought for, and paid for in blood and belief by people who had every reason to quit but didn’t. That legacy landed in our hands. What we do with it is on us. 

The next time someone tells you America has no culture, no soul, nothing worth saving — look around. Really look. This country gave ordinary people an extraordinary life. It still does. It will keep doing it as long as we have the spine to stand up and say so.

I do. I will. And if you don’t — there’s a plane leaving tonight.

After decades of struggling under one of the strictest gun-control schemes in the country, residents of the nation’s capital might have expected to breathe a sigh of relief when President Donald Trump was reelected. After all, he boasts of “standing up for” the right to keep and bear arms, and his Department of Justice is taking some bold steps in that direction — including filing a lawsuit against D.C.’s ban on many semiautomatic weapons.

The Department should also be joining locals in celebrating the recent court decision in Benson v. District of Columbia. The case began when Tyree Benson was arrested for possessing a gun with a detachable, 30-round magazine. That was illegal because Benson had not registered the gun or obtained a carry license. But Benson had a compelling defense: the District would not have let him register the gun because it bans magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds — and that restriction is itself unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.

D.C.’s highest court agreed and, on March 5, a three-judge panel struck down the ban. A two-judge majority observed that “about half of the magazines in the hands of our citizenry” hold more than 10 rounds and “come standard with the most popular firearms sold in America today.” The Constitution does not let a locale ban such “arms in common and ubiquitous use by law-abiding citizens across this country.” The Benson decision now stands as a monument to common sense, protecting magazines that many Americans rely on.

Surprisingly, the court reached this decision with the encouragement of Pirro’s office. Though she had initially prosecuted Benson, she ultimately agreed that the District’s law violated his rights.

Then something even less expected happened: Pirro asked the court to press rewind. It backed the District’s request for the court to rehear the case en banc, meaning all seven of its judges would participate in the decision.

It is anyone’s guess whether Washington gunowners will manage to run the court’s gauntlet a second time. One of the three judges who heard the case the first time dissented from the decision. All four of the judges who would join the case, if reheard, were appointed by Democratic presidents. Letting the decision stand would vindicate the Second Amendment — rehearing would roll the dice with virtually no chance of achieving a better constitutional ruling.

Pirro attempted to explain her stance. While noting that she continued to believe the District law is unconstitutional, she fretted that the court’s decision went too far, saying it should have merely limited the law’s application to extremely high-capacity magazines. (Never mind that the law the court invalidated is far broader than that.) Further, she argued that the law wasn’t what kept Benson from registering his gun. Had he gone down to the station, the police could have “confiscate[d] the prohibited large-capacity magazine while registering the firearm itself.” Judge Deahl, the author of the majority opinion, deemed this poppycock, writing that the District could “with a snap of its fingers” comply with the Constitution by “no longer conditioning the registration and licensure of firearms upon their firing capacity.”

Setting aside the technicalities of D.C.’s gun-registration laws, Second Amendment advocates are wondering why Pirro is working overtime to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. The National Association for Gun Rights said her support for rehearing “risks undermining” the Benson decision. Gun Owners of America warned: “Stop adopting anti-gun positions, DOJ!” The Reload noted that Pirro’s brief “did not even need to exist.”

This is not the first time Pirro has shown hostility toward the Second Amendment. Back in 2004, she said, “There is no legitimate purpose in possessing an assault weapon other than to kill as many people as quickly as possible.” Two months ago, she threatened: “I don’t care if you have a license in another district, and I don’t care if you’re a law-abiding gun owner somewhere else. You bring a gun into this District, count on going to jail, and hope you get the gun back.” Following backlash, Pirro put out a social media video casting herself as “a proud high-heeled gun owner.”

Those heels are doing quite the dance on the Second Amendment. Should President Trump nominate her to lead the DOJ, every American gun owner will get to know the dangers of Pirro’s pirouettes, facing an attorney general who voices support for their rights while undermining them at every turn.

***

Matthew Cavedon is the director of the Cato Institute’s Project on Criminal Justice. 

Hasan Piker, who once suggested Florida Republican Senator Rick Scott should be killed over proposed cuts to Medicare, made the comments during an appearance on the “Pod Save America” podcast on Sunday, where he claimed that the Democrat Party was not serious about being “anti-fascist.”

“I hate Republicans,” Piker said. “I oppose them. I say that all the time. I think that the Republicans are far more damaging. The biggest terrorists, the biggest domestic terrorist in this country, the biggest terrorist internationally is the Republican Party. And not only that, but it’s just like, they … I want to fight against the growing fascist movement in this country.”

Piker’s comments come as he has boosted politicians like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D-NYC), and endorsed Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA).

During the podcast appearance, Piker also claimed that Democrats were not pro-immigrant enough.

“On the one hand, you say Donald Trump is a dangerous force,” he said. “I see that. I recognize that. But then you turn around, and you take on his anti-immigrant narratives and anti-immigrant messaging from the 2020 election that you won and decide you’re going to be the sincere candidate that ends up, you know, dealing with the growth of migration in this country. It’s a failure.”

Piker, who has over four million followers between YouTube and Twitch, is known for his radical calls to action. Last year, he was banned from Twitch for comments he made about Senator Rick Scott.

“The reason why I’m saying, if you cared about Medicare or Medicaid fraud, you would kill Rick Scott is because — and not make him a prominent part of the Republican Party — is because he, to this day, is still also known as committing the largest Medicare fraud in U.S. history,” he claimed.

Some Democrats, such as Senator John Fetterman (D-PA), have distanced themselves from Piker while others have dodged questions about their association with him.

“The meeting went well, most points were agreed to, but the only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not,” President Trump stated. “Effective immediately, the United States Navy … will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz.”

The president characterized Iran’s maritime behavior as “WORLD EXTORTION” and warned that any vessel paying an “illegal toll” to Iran would be denied safe passage. “Our Military will finish up the little that is left of Iran!” he added, noting that U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) will begin full enforcement on Monday, April 13, at 10:00 a.m. ET.

While the military rhetoric is sharp, Miad Maleki, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and former U.S. sanctions strategist, warns that the economic consequences for Tehran will be absolute. Maleki calculates that the blockade will inflict roughly $435 million in combined economic damage every single day—totaling a staggering $13 billion per month.

According to Maleki, over 90% of Iran’s $109.7 billion in annual trade transits the Persian Gulf. With oil and gas accounting for 80% of government export earnings and 23.7% of the national GDP, the closure of the Strait “zeroes this out overnight.”

The statistics provided by Maleki paint a grim picture for Iran’s energy infrastructure. Kharg Island, which handles 92% of the country’s crude exports, generates between $53 billion and $78 billion in annual revenue. Under the blockade, the 1.5 million barrels per day Iran was exporting—valued at $139 million daily at wartime prices—will cease entirely.

Furthermore, the petrochemical sector, which saw $19.7 billion in exports over a nine-month period in 2024/25, faces a daily loss of $54 million. Maleki notes that Iran’s non-oil exports, including minerals and metals, will lose another $79 million per day.

The blockade targets the heart of Iranian logistics. The Shahid Rajaee port handles 53% of all cargo operations, while Imam Khomeini handles 58% of basic goods imports. Maleki argues that Iran’s attempts to bypass the Strait are “negligible.” The Jask bypass operates at only 70,000 barrels per day—a fraction of its intended 1 million barrel capacity—and the five Caspian ports combined can only handle 11 million tons of cargo compared to the 220 million tons that move through the Gulf.

The internal impact is expected to be catastrophic. With food inflation hitting 105% in February 2026 and rice prices up sevenfold, the loss of $159 million in daily imports will accelerate a total currency collapse. The rial has already plummeted to 1.5 million per dollar, forcing the regime to issue a 10-million-rial banknote worth a mere $7.

Perhaps most critically, Maleki points to a “storage clock.” Iran has roughly 20 million barrels of spare onshore storage capacity. At current production levels, this will fill in just 13 days. Once full, Iran must “shut in” its wells. Maleki warns this could cause “water coning,” permanently destroying 300,000 to 500,000 barrels per day of production capacity. This would result in a permanent loss of $9 billion to $15 billion in annual revenue, even if the blockade eventually ends.

“The blockade,” Maleki concludes, “makes continued resistance economically impossible.”

1/10 The U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would cost Iran approximately $276M/day in lost exports and disrupt $159M/day in imports, a combined economic damage of ~$435M/day, or $13B/month.

Over 90% of Iran's $109.7B in annual trade transits the Persian Gulf. Oil/gas… https://t.co/fOwhRltQhv

— Miad Maleki (@miadmaleki) April 12, 2026

***

She’s got 73 things she can’t eat. She has struggled with gut, immune, and skin disorders ever since she was an infant. Now, at just 18 years old, Shelby Gwinn is determined to heal her body, inspire others, and normalize the MAHA movement. Armed with bone broth, a red light therapy mat, and Philippians 4:13, this “crunchy” rising star is challenging modern medicine, starting with herself. 

In the nano influencer sphere, Gwinn is refreshingly relatable. You won’t find a ring light or multi-step “get ready with me” skincare routine anywhere on her Instagram or blog. In fact, you might find her hanging out on a farm or launching her Turning Point USA chapter. Along with her family, she enjoys a supportive church community and a close circle of friends. And after spending years experimenting with all sorts of wellness remedies, she finally decided to follow her calling to study nutrition at the collegiate level.

“I realized that no doctor had ever really been concerned with the root cause of my issues,” Gwinn told The Daily Wire, remembering her first appointment at a holistic clinic. “The doctor went over my bloodwork … discussing the results and what we could do about it. She didn’t prescribe me medicines or creams and tell me to come back in six weeks. The goal was to get to the root cause.” It was the moment Gwinn entered her MAHA era.

After the Make America Healthy Again Commission issued a 2025 report detailing America’s childhood disease epidemic, the federal government put kids’ nutrition front and center with a focus on “whole, nutrient-dense foods,” balanced school meals, and the phasing out of petroleum-based food dyes.

It might have been hard to see through all the Cheetos dust, but America was addicted to junk. “We must make America healthy again so our children live longer and healthier lives than we will,” NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said. Still, naturally colored Fruity Pebbles only have so much sway.  

“Growing up we ate ‘normally,’” Gwinn recalled. “I loved all the junk food. Of course it was not 24/7 prepackaged ultra-processed foods. In our eyes, at the time, I’m sure we seemed fairly healthy.” Gwinn’s unrelenting allergies told a different story.

When a traditional doctor’s prescription medications and injections couldn’t quell her chronic inflammation, Gwinn’s family went back to basics. “We were using homemade laundry detergents and had a water filter … That was the extent of our ‘crunchy,’” she said. 

But she credits an excruciating bout of eczema at age 16 for transforming her life. “It sounds weird saying this, due to the fact it felt absolutely terrible at the time, but it was all for the better,” she said. “Through this learning process, we have rapidly changed things over the past few years. We are definitely what you would call an ingredient household. The supplement cabinet has definitely grown.”

Also known as “snackless homes,” ingredient households stock things to make meals and snacks, not the premade snacks themselves. Chocolate chips, not Chips Ahoy; tortillas, not Totino’s Pizza Rolls. It minimizes packaging, preservatives, and GMOs for many families, but the strategy empowered Gwinn to uncover which foods were really irritating her system. 

Gwinn tested positive for dysbiosis, or the imbalance of gut microorganisms that were wreaking havoc on her body. “The protocol for gut dysbiosis is called a gut reset. Part of this gut reset is to cut out every single one of my food sensitivities and allergies,” she said. After following a restricted diet for more than two years, she still makes adjustments to foods and supplements under medical supervision. She’s just searching for her own cure.

 

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But healing through diet isn’t without its challenges, especially for someone who enjoys the social part of sharing a meal. “It’s always awkward when you aren’t eating the same meal as everyone else at dinner,” Gwinn noted. But that hasn’t stopped her from making tough choices for her own good.

“The greatest sacrifice I have made for my health is definitely stopping my sugar cravings,” Gwinn said, noting the discipline required to feel her best. Managing to avoid momentary temptation, she explained, “I have a severe sweet tooth. One little bite of a cake can lead to me eating two servings. A couple pieces of cake is just not worth the pain it will cause my skin and joints … That is motivation enough for me.”

Of course, Gwinn is only human. She admitted, “I definitely miss being able to eat pizza and anything with dairy.”

So, what does someone monitoring how every ingredient affects her system actually eat? Gwinn’s daily diet includes fresh, whole foods and proteins. “At the moment I am pretty much meat and grain based, with a few different veggies and fruits,” she said. The details? Gwinn loves bone broth for breakfast; ground beef with rice, or tortillas with black beans, and cauliflower or Brussels sprouts for lunch; and a dinner protein with veggies and homemade wheat bread. Don’t forget to fill up a bottle with filtered water.

Want to try Shelby Gwinn’s favorite bread recipe for yourself? “My mom discovered Bread Beckers a couple months into my gut reset diet,” Gwinn says of Bread Beckers Basic Dough Recipe. “I never have an issue when I eat fresh ground organic wheat bread.” Use it as a base for sandwich loaves, dinner rolls, raisin bread, energy bars, and more!

She doesn’t usually snack, but don’t write her off when it comes to comforting potatoes. “I also am a fry connoisseur,” she said. “I love potatoes. Often, I make homemade fries to go with my meals.” 

 

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Leveraging activities that calm her nervous system, Gwinn weaves Bible study, art, and fitness into her regular routine. “I do at home workouts at least three days a week and I read my Bible. I have learned those two things relieve my stress the most,” she shared. “On the side, I am an artist. I have taken art classes since I was a little kid. It is one of my passions. A good nap also helps my body relax and recharge. If napping was a sport, I’d probably win.”

Nearly 18% of American high school students have taken prescription drugs without a prescription. Painkillers and stimulants such as OxyContin, Percocet, Vicodin, codeine, Adderall, Ritalin, and Xanax all count toward the $800 billion pharmaceutical complex in the U.S.

But there’s a glimmer of hope amid the chronic disease epidemic. According to the World Health Organization, roughly 80% of illnesses, such as premature heart disease, type II diabetes, and stroke, could be eliminated by simple upgrades in lifestyle habits and better nutrition. The same can be said for 20% of cancers. Maybe the solution is early education, not more subscription medication. 

It’s uncharted territory, fronted by fresh faces who aren’t exactly credentialed — yet. But as the average American struggles to cover the rising cost of healthcare, and Big Pharma banks on even greater returns with A.I., rising next-generation MAHA stars like Shelby Gwinn lead the way toward a future we can all feel good about.

Vice President JD Vance will soon arrive back in Washington, and President Donald Trump has upped the ante declaring a complete blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

The negotiations helped the United States understand just how little Iran understood their situation, U.S. officials told The Daily Wire. Iran failed to recognize the reality of the situation on the ground, the officials say, and has not come to terms with the fact that its inability to ever have a nuclear weapon is a primary American objective.

A U.S. official said that Vance entered the negotiations well-aware that the United States and Iran had hardly interacted with one another for half a century. Vance went into the 21 hours of negotiations with plans to test the counterparties and assess what they believed their situation was.

Vance probed their vulnerabilities, and Trump is now testing those vulnerabilities, the official said, and the world will see whether the Iranians recognize reality.

After Vance’s departure, Trump announced that the United States would blockade the Strait because Iran had refused to commit to abandoning its nuclear program. The president shared that he had been fully briefed by the vice president, and said that the U.S. Navy would begin its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and targeting vessels that attempt to enter or exit, as well as identify vessels that have paid what he described as “illegal” tolls to Iran.

“The meeting with Iran began early in the morning, and lasted throughout the night — Close to 20 hours. I could go into great detail, and talk about much that has been gotten but, there is only one thing that matters — IRAN IS UNWILLING TO GIVE UP ITS NUCLEAR AMBITIONS,” the president said.

“In many ways, the points that were agreed to are better than us continuing our Military Operations to conclusion, but all of those points don’t matter compared to allowing Nuclear Power to be in the hands of such volatile, difficult, unpredictable people.”

One of the vice president’s main goals, heading into the talks, was for both the United States and Iran to get to a mutual understanding on each country’s objectives and their “negotiating space,” the first U.S. official explained. Though the conversations were tough, the official said, by the end, the negotiators had completed a productive exchange of proposals.

It became clear from the outset that the Iranians weren’t grasping the core objective of the United States: any deal would have to center on the fact that Iran can not ever obtain a nuclear weapon. Vance corrected this misunderstanding during the deliberations, the official shared, and when the vice president left Islamabad, he had offered Iran the best and final offer that worked for both parties.

US Vice President JD Vance (L) talks to Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshall Asim Munir (R) and Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar (C) before boarding Air Force Two after attending talks on Iran in Islamabad on April 12, 2026. (Photo by Jacquelyn MARTIN / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Vance also believed that deal should be acceptable to the Iranians and said publicly that he hopes they will accept it.

Another key point of the weekend negotiations: Vance probed the Iranian assessment of their own position and discovered that they fundamentally misunderstood their own position walking into the negotiations. That was why the vice president left Islamabad after he gave that final offer: if the Iranians believe they have leverage that they do not have, the official said, no deal is achievable.

And before they are ready to entertain a serious offer, the Iranians need to recognize that the realities on the ground in Iran do not match their assumptions heading into the negotiations.

“The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon,” Vance told reporters as he departed Pakistan. “That is the core goal of the president of the United States. And that’s what we’ve tried to achieve through these negotiations.”

“We leave here, and we leave here with a very simple proposal, a method of understanding that is our final and best offer. We’ll see if the Iranians accept it.”

The White House national security team has come up with a plan, in consultation with the president, intended to break the Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz and, at the same time, challenge the idea that the Strait of Hormuz can distract from the main issue: Iran’s nuclear program. The vice president is hopeful that Iran recognizes that the deal they have been presented is in both parties’ interest, the official said.

A separate U.S. official outlined the United States red lines to The Daily Wire: Iran must end all uranium enrichment, dismantle all major nuclear enrichment facilities, retrieve highly enriched uranium, accept a broader peace, security and de-escalation framework that includes regional allies, end funding for the terrorist proxies Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, and fully open the Strait of Hormuz, charging no tolls for passage.

There is a deal still on the table, the U.S. official noted, and the vice president’s statement emphasized that. It now remains up to the Iranians whether or not they accept it.

Ratified in 1967 in the aftermath of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, the 25th Amendment was designed to address a narrow but serious problem: what happens when a president is incapable of exercising the powers of the office? Section 4, the most discussed (and most misunderstood) provision — and one that has never been invoked — allows the vice president and a majority of the cabinet to declare that the president is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.” Upon transmitting that declaration to Congress, the vice president immediately assumes the role of acting president.

Crucially, the amendment anticipates disagreement. If the president contests the declaration, Congress must decide the issue, requiring a two-thirds vote in both houses to sustain the vice president’s judgment. That’s an extraordinarily high bar, reflecting the gravity of sidelining a duly elected president without impeachment.

The text is clear: the concern is inability and incapacity, not unpopularity or controversy. It’s a mechanism for dealing with presidents who cannot function, not those whose personalities provoke opposition.

Historical practice reinforces this understanding. The 25th Amendment has been invoked several times — under Section 3, which allows voluntary delegation of authority — in cases involving clear, temporary incapacity. In 1985, President Ronald Reagan had surgery for colon cancer and transferred power to Vice President George H.W. Bush for about eight hours. President George W. Bush invoked Section 3 twice, in 2002 and 2007, when he underwent colonoscopies requiring anesthesia. President Joe Biden did the same thing in 2021. In these cases, the respective vice presidents briefly served as “acting” president. They were textbook examples of the 25th Amendment’s purpose: a president temporarily unable to perform his duties due to a known, concrete medical condition.

Even outside formal invocation, the amendment’s logic reflects lessons from earlier constitutional crises. Woodrow Wilson, after suffering a debilitating stroke in 1919, remained president in name only while his wife and aides effectively ran the executive branch. That episode — along with concerns raised after President Dwight Eisenhower’s heart attack — led to calls for constitutional reform, which Kennedy’s assassination finally triggered.

In other words, this provision exists precisely because there have been presidents who were genuinely unable to govern due to physical or cognitive impairment. It’s not a catch-all remedy for political dissatisfaction.

Which brings us to Donald Trump. One can oppose his policies, criticize his rhetoric, or argue that he shouldn’t be president. The Constitution provides a mechanism for that: elections. It also provides another mechanism for serious misconduct: impeachment. But outrage over a president’s behavior can’t magically transform into constitutional “inability.”

Trump’s critics often claim that he’s erratic or mentally unstable. But these are political assertions, not medical diagnoses. More importantly, they’re not evidence of incapacity as the 25th Amendment contemplates it. There’s no indication that Trump is unable to understand his role, make decisions, or carry out the basic functions of the presidency. Indeed, whatever one thinks of his style, he’s behaving much as he did during his first term — hardly evidence of a sudden, disqualifying decline.

The contrast with genuinely incapacitated presidents is stark. Wilson was physically and neurologically impaired to the point of being unable to govern. More recently, Biden’s cognitive decline prompted debate precisely because it raised questions about whether he could perform the job’s demands. Those are the kinds of situations the 25th Amendment is meant to address: actual inability, not partisan disgust.

To stretch the amendment to cover unconventional leadership would be to weaponize it, turning a safeguard for emergencies into a tool for political maneuvering. That would not only distort the Constitution but also set a dangerous precedent, inviting future cabinets and vice presidents to attempt end-runs around elections whenever tensions run high.

Trump’s opponents are entirely within their rights to argue that he is unfit for office. They can make that case to Congress and ultimately to voters. They can even continue to deploy the language of “craziness” in the rough-and-tumble of political debate. But they shouldn’t pretend that such rhetoric satisfies the legal standard for removing a president under the 25th Amendment.

* * *

Ilya Shapiro is director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute, contributing editor of City Journal, senior counsel to Burke Law Group, PLLC, and author, most recently, of Lawless: The Miseducation of America’s Elites. He also writes the Shapiro’s Gavel newsletter.

“I am suspending my campaign for Governor,” Swalwell announced in an X post. “To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past. I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s.”

I am suspending my campaign for Governor.

To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past.

I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s.

— Eric Swalwell (@ericswalwell) April 13, 2026

Swalwell once again declared his innocence — as he had one day prior in a video announcing his plan to fight the accusations against him, which he described as “flat false.” Since Friday, Swalwell has been hit with several accusations ranging from inappropriate and sexually charged messages to at least one accusation of rape.

In the time elapsed since the first accusations were publicly reported, a number of elected Democrats have withdrawn their support for his gubernatorial campaign and have called for him to bow out of the race. Others have taken that a step further and have suggested that he also resign his congressional seat — and some have said that they would, should the opportunity arise, vote to expel him from Congress.

The California congressman’s announcement comes as several other investigations are already underway — including a DHS investigation into reports that he hired a Brazilian nanny and then lied about the fact that she was living in the United States illegally.

His employees followed suit, with a group of senior staffers from both his congressional office and his gubernatorial campaign office issuing a joint memo on Saturday and resigning en masse. They withdrew all support from Swalwell and promised to stand with their former colleagues who had come forward to accuse him — and they also  called on voters to withdraw support from Swalwell.

POLITICO’s Dan Lippman broke the story, reporting on Sunday that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) had referred allegations to law enforcement at DHS — and the department issued a response from the official X account.

“USCIS has been collecting information on the allegations involving Congressman Eric Swalwell hiring of a Brazilian national as a nanny without lawful work authorization. @USCIS has referred this matter to DHS law enforcement for investigation. No one is above the law, including a member of Congress,” the post read.

USCIS has been collecting information on the allegations involving Congressman Eric Swalwell hiring of a Brazilian national as a nanny without lawful work authorization.@USCIS has referred this matter to DHS law enforcement for investigation.

No one is above the law, including… https://t.co/yFE4DeI3aC

— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) April 12, 2026

The news comes as multiple other investigations are already in play — and as the California congressman and gubernatorial candidate is also facing several accusations of inappropriate sexual behavior, ranging from unwanted attention to at least one claim of rape from a former staffer.

The Manhattan district attorney opened an investigation into Swalwell on Saturday after learning that on of the women accusing him of sexual misconduct lived in New York. Weeks earlier, the Justice Department had opened an unrelated investigation into the gubernatorial hopeful, alleging mortgage fraud.

Since the accusations began to drop on Friday, Swalwell’s friends and colleagues have quickly deserted him. Democrats in Congress withdrew their support for his gubernatorial run, withdrawing their endorsements publicly and calling on him to drop out of the race. Some took that a step further and called on him to resign his congressional seat – and a few have said that, if given the opportunity, they would cast a vote to expel him from the legislative body.

His employees followed, with a group of senior staffers from both his congressional office and his gubernatorial campaign office issuing a joint memo and resigning en masse. They also called on voters to withdraw support from Swalwell.

Swalwell has denied the accusations, calling them “flat false” and voting to fight back with everything that he has.

With the votes nearly all counted by Sunday afternoon, the Tisza Party looked poised to also deliver a two-thirds majority in parliament — which is likely to prompt a dramatic shift in Hungary’s relationship with the European Union.

The E.U. and Orbán have often been at odds — and Magyar has already declared his intent to work more closely with the governing body than his predecessor did.

“Hungarians said ‘yes’ to Europe,” Magyar said. “Hungary is again going to be a very strong ally of the European Union and NATO.”

Magyar boasted that his party had won some 3.3 million votes — the largest number for any one political party in Hungary’s history: “Together we replaced the Orbán regime, together we liberated Hungary. We took our country back.”

Speaking to a large crowd in Budapest, Magyar declared that his support was so expansive that his voters could be seen “from the moon and every window in Hungary … Never in the history of democratic Hungary, have so many people voted, and no other party has ever received such a big mandate.”

Magyar, according to The Washington Post, was poised to see his party take 138 seats in the 199-seat parliament. In contrast, Orbán’s party is likely to only take 55.

“Today we have worked a miracle, Hungary has written history,” Magyar said. “Today truth triumphed over lies. Today Hungarians didn’t ask the question what can the country do for them but what can they do for the country.”

President Donald Trump’s administration has had a good relationship with Orbán, and the president himself offered an endorsement via video, and Vice President JD Vance traveled to Hungary to campaign alongside Orbán in recent weeks.

“We hope you will vote for independent thinking and for someone who stands for Hungary First,” Donald Trump Jr. posted on X Sunday morning. “We hope you will vote for my father’s friend and ally.”

Orbán was quick to concede the race as the vote tallies came in, saying that the results were “clear” as he delivered brief remarks to supporters.

Speaking in on “Pod Force One”, Giuliani said his reaction to the current direction of the city is emotional and personal, describing it as “heartbroken” and rooted in decades of attachment to New York.

💥NEW: Rudy Giuliani on Zohran Mamdani🤯💔

“My heart is broken.”

“I didn’t think it could get worse than de Blasio. I really didn’t. I thought, ‘Well, that’s it. Now we had the worst mayor.’ WOW!” pic.twitter.com/kEyUoIKnoe

— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) April 12, 2026

“The situation with New York, in a pure way, was a love affair,” Giuliani said. “I love New York. I love the city. I love what I did as mayor. I put my whole heart and soul into it.”

He added that his connection to the city goes beyond politics. “A lot of people love New York, but nobody loves it more than I do,” he said, pointing to his lifelong identity as a fan of the Yankees, Knicks, and Rangers as part of that bond.

Giuliani, who served as mayor from 1994 to 2001 and is widely credited with a major drop in crime during that period, said he believes the city is now in decline under its current leadership.

“I just think New York is potentially the greatest city on Earth and has been,” he said. “And what he’s doing to it … I didn’t think it could get worse than de Blasio. I really didn’t. I thought, well, that’s it. Now he had the worst mayor. Wow.”

Giuliani then escalated his criticism, framing Mamdani’s politics as part of a broader ideological threat. “He combines two things that I have been studying and fighting against since I was a child,” Giuliani said. “He’s a communist and he’s a violent supporter of violent Muslim religion.”

He went on to reference his early academic study of comparative religion, saying he had examined Islamic texts from a young age and concluded that they promoted violence in ways he found deeply troubling. He also stressed that he believes most Muslims are peaceful, while warning against what he sees as silence from within the broader community.

“The vast majority of Muslims are good people … but Muslims don’t stand up,” he said. “That’s what happens … good men do nothing.”

Giuliani extended his criticism beyond New York, warning about what he sees as broader cultural and political shifts in Western cities, suggesting that similar dynamics are emerging in Europe as well. Joking about a comment he made to Piers Morgan, “Charles the Third is gonna become an Imam.”

At the center of his remarks was a broader warning about what he views as ideological extremism taking hold in urban leadership, and a call for renewed political opposition to it.

Giuliani closed by reiterating his deep personal connection to New York and his belief that the city’s future is at risk if current trends continue, framing his comments as both a political critique and a personal lament for a city he once led through crisis and rebuilding.

The little plush ball, nicknamed “Rise” and made to look like the iconic “earth-rise” over the moon that can only be seen from space, was featured alongside the human crew members throughout the Artemis II lunar mission and had, in effect, become part of the team.

Rise could be seen in a photo of Wiseman after he left the capsule, prompting a comment on X that read, “It’s very moving to me that Commander Reid Wiseman, the last of the #ArtemisII astronauts to exit Integrity, made sure to bring the plushie Rise — and the 5 million names it carries — back with him immediately upon landing. Every one of those names completed the mission with him.”

Wiseman responded, saying, “I was supposed to leave Rise in Integrity … but that was not something I was going to do. I stuffed that little guy in a dry bag we had in our survival kit and hooked the bag onto my pressure suit.”

I was supposed to leave Rise in Integrity….but that was not something I was going to do. I stuffed that little guy in a dry bag we had in our survival kit and hooked the bag onto my pressure suit.

— Reid Wiseman (@astro_reid) April 11, 2026

Wiseman followed that with another photo later on, reassuring fans that Rise was still safe and in his custody.

“PS- it’s hard not to love this little guy. I cant let Rise out of my sight…currently tethered to my water bottle,” he said.

8-year-old Lucas Ye designed Rise, the mascot for the Artemis II mission.pic.twitter.com/7hZOJLuz0i

— Cinema Hub (@_CinemaHub_) April 11, 2026

In addition to functioning as the team’s zero-gravity indicator throughout the mission, Rise also carried the names of millions of people on earth as the team traveled farther from earth than anyone in history.

Hi Rise! 🧵

The Artemis II zero gravity indicator was designed by 3rd grader Lucas Ye. Our blanket technician at Goddard brought it to life, fabricated in the same lab where blankets are created to keep spacecraft like @NASARoman the right temperature for science. pic.twitter.com/1lALREmkUs

— NASA Goddard (@NASAGoddard) April 2, 2026

The little plush moon was designed by a California second grader, Lucas Ye, as part of a contest — which required that the item meet certain weight and size standards and only be made from specific materials that would be safe for spaceflight — and Ye has since said that he’d like to work for NASA when he grows up.

Foreign affairs columnist Thomas Friedman admitted that he felt torn over fully backing the United States in the ongoing Operation Epic Fury, saying that he wanted the Iranian regime to fall but that he wasn’t sure it was worth the cost of elevating President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Friedman told CNN host Michael Smerconish that he was all for the end of the Iranian regime, but that it was the likelihood the credit — and with that credit, political capital — would go to Trump and Netanyahu that gave him pause.

WATCH:

Don’t want Iran to lose if it means Trump wins. @TomFriedman of @NYTimes really wants “to see Iran defeated militarily because this regime is a terrible regime for its people and the region,” but on CNN’s @Smerconish he fretted “the problem is I really don’t want to see Bibi… pic.twitter.com/rgPngGXkGc

— Brent Baker 🇺🇲🇺🇦 🇮🇱 (@BrentHBaker) April 11, 2026

“I find myself, Michael, in a situation where I really want to see Iran defeated militarily because this regime is a terrible regime for the people and the region,” he explained, saying that the best thing for the Iranian people — and for the region across the board — would be a regime change that resulted in leadership that allowed the people to flourish and thrive.

“I’m all for that. The problem is I really don’t want to see Bibi Netanyahu or Donald Trump politically strengthened by this war because they are two awful human beings,” Friedman continued. “They are both engaged in anti-democratic projects in their own countries. They’re both alleged crooks. They are terrible, terrible people doing terrible things to America’s standing in the world and Israel’s standing in the world.”

“And so I really find myself torn,” Friedman concluded, saying that he was trying to balance his support for a new regime in Iran against his fears that Trump or Netanyahu might get a share of the credit for helping to  bring that about.

A growing number of House lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are now openly discussing removing Swalwell from office — a rare moment of bipartisan alignment on Capitol Hill. Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Byron Donalds (R-FL) made clear he would support expulsion if the issue comes to a vote. “[If] that vote comes to the floor, I will be voting yes on both measures. These allegations are despicable and they demean the integrity of Congress,” Donalds said. “These things are just completely unacceptable… both gentlemen need to go home.”

That sentiment is now being echoed by prominent Democrats. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) also said she would support expulsion, on “Meet the Press,” emphasizing that the issue transcends party lines. “This is not a partisan issue,” Jayapal said. “This is clearly a pattern … and I think we have to hold everybody accountable.”

Meanwhile, Ro Khanna (D-CA) has called directly for Swalwell to resign, framing the controversy as part of a broader cultural issue within Congress. “I believe that he should resign,” Khanna said on Fox News Sunday. “And whatever in terms of the House has to happen should happen… This shouldn’t be about politics… anyone who abuses staffers should not be in the United States Congress.”

Khanna also stressed the importance of setting a standard for congressional staffers, arguing that lawmakers must demonstrate that “their bosses don’t get to do this to them.” The criticism has extended beyond television appearances and into direct calls from colleagues. Jared Huffman wrote on social media that he has “seen enough,” arguing that Swalwell’s own public defense “all but admits a per se abuse of power under House ethics rules.”

“He must now drop out of the Governor’s race and resign from Congress,” Huffman wrote on X, adding that he would support a vote to expel Swalwell if he refuses to step down.

Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM), chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, issued a forceful statement to X on Sunday, calling for both Swalwell and Tony Gonzales (R-TX) to step down. “Men in power rely on the silence of the women they have abused,” Leger Fernández said. “Both Reps. Gonzales and Swalwell believed it was acceptable to sexually abuse staff and still run for and serve in elected office. They clearly did not expect there would be any consequences for their actions.”

She continued by highlighting the vulnerability of congressional staffers, saying they were “preyed upon” despite their commitment to public service.

“These women have suffered enough. Now we must act to protect them and make sure there is accountability,” she said. “Reps. Gonzales and Swalwell are not fit to serve. They must resign. If they do not, I will vote to expel them.”

The growing backlash comes after multiple reports detailing allegations against Swalwell. A woman first accused him of sexual assault on Friday, and within hours, three more women came forward with additional claims ranging from harassment to sending unsolicited explicit images. Swalwell has denied all allegations, calling them “absolutely false” and vowing to fight them.

The situation has already triggered a criminal inquiry by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, which is investigating claims that include an alleged assault involving a former staffer in New York City in 2024.

At the same time, Democratic leadership has begun to distance itself, though not all have gone as far as calling for resignation from Congress. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) urged Swalwell to end his gubernatorial campaign, stopping short of demanding he leave office entirely.

The controversy has also drawn comparisons to Gonzales, a Republican facing his own misconduct allegations. Lawmakers in both parties have increasingly linked the two cases, calling for equal accountability regardless of party affiliation.

Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), says she intends to inquire with the house parliamentarian to pair her resolution to expel Swalwell with Gonzalez. They would be the seventh and eighth expulsions in the history of the house, while only the fourth and fifth since the civil war. The most recent expulsion was George Santos in 2023.

Even as Swalwell remains defiant, insisting the allegations are politically motivated, the political reality around him appears to be shifting quickly. With allies stepping away, leadership urging him out of the governor’s race, and a bipartisan bloc now openly discussing expulsion, the congressman is facing the most serious threat to his career since entering public office. 

Whether that pressure ultimately forces him from Congress, or triggers a historic expulsion vote will be determined in the days ahead.

Sasse said in December that he had been diagnosed with metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer, calling it a “death sentence.”

“I was incredibly blessed to be quickly at peace,” Sasse told Douthat. “I kept hearing the Pauline phrase, ‘To live is Christ, to die is gain.’”

“Death is terrible,” Sasse added. “We should never sugarcoat it. It is not how things are meant to be. But it is great that death can be called the final enemy. It’s an enemy, but it’s a final enemy, and then there will be no more tears.”

Former Sen. Ben Sasse, who is facing terminal illness, opens up about how his faith in Jesus Christ is sustaining him during this difficult time:

“I believe in the Resurrection, and I believe in a restoration of this world, and so I did not feel great fear about my death.” pic.twitter.com/MhZrV5ULra

— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) April 10, 2026

Sasse is now in the fourth month since his diagnosis, having been told he had three to four months to live.

“I believe in the Resurrection, and I believe in a restoration of this world, and so I did not feel great fear about my death,” Sasse said. “I didn’t want the pain I was going through, I didn’t want to be a pansy-ass in my final moments.”

Sasse had a bloody face during his interview, a side effect of a new cancer treatment, he told Douthat. The treatment is extending the lives of cancer patients, but causes bleeding, peeling, and rashes.

“It’s a nasty drug,” Sasse said. “It causes crazy stuff, like my body can’t grow skin, and so I bleed out of a whole bunch of parts of me that shouldn’t be bleeding.”

Sasse has done several interviews since his diagnosis, and he told Douthat he has “time to redeem.”

“You gotta redeem the time, and there’s only so many bits of unsolicited advice I can give my children,” Sasse said when asked why he is choosing to talk to journalists. “You journalists want to talk, and if you don’t have anybody better, I’m your man.”

Although Sasse said he has made peace with his mortality, he added that he does have regrets about having prioritized poorly throughout his life.

“We’re all on the clock, and I wanted to have prioritized better, and whether I really only had three or four months left or if I get nine to 12 months left, I wanna prioritize better from then. But in my tradition, in Christianity, the need for daily repentance is just a truth. I am broken,” Sasse said. “And I get to repent every day of my sins — of both omission and commission. And yet, at a slightly bigger level, if you’re only gonna get three or four months, you really wanna get some of your affairs in order.”

Sasse said he has felt a heaviness about the diagnosis because he does not want to leave his children without a father.

“I knew that God was not surprised by the diagnosis,” Sasse said. “There is not a maverick molecule in the universe. But I didn’t like the idea of my 14-year-old son not having a dad around at 16. I didn’t like the idea of my daughters, who are 22 and 24, not having their dad there to walk them down the aisle.”

Despite his concerns, Sasse said, he is still at peace.

“I’ve continued to feel a peace about the fact that death is something that we should hate, we should call it a wicked thief, and yet, it’s pretty good that you pass through the veil of tears one time and then there will be no more tears,” Sasse said.

Authorities say gunfire erupted around 8:40 p.m. inside or near the crowded fast-food restaurant along Route 22, sending patrons scrambling for safety. Early accounts indicate that at least six people were shot, with one victim pronounced dead at the scene. The conditions of the injured victims have not been fully disclosed, though several were transported to nearby hospitals.

Witnesses described a chaotic and fast-moving scene. A father waiting outside the restaurant told ABC7 New York his son, an employee, reported that multiple masked individuals entered the establishment and opened fire, wounding several workers. “It was a war zone,” he said.

“I got an unconscious witness. I’ve got one shot in the face … and I have at least two in the leg,” a 911 dispatcher says in audio obtained by CBS News New York. Another witness, a ride-share driver, said he heard at least seven gunshots while completing a trip nearby. “I heard the shots very close,” he said, describing a heavy police presence arriving within minutes.

The New York Post reported the suspects forced their way behind the counter before firing, suggesting employees may have been specifically targeted, though authorities have not confirmed that detail. Video circulating from the scene appears to show at least one masked individual fleeing the area shortly after the shooting. Law enforcement has not confirmed the number of suspects involved, and no arrests have been made as of Sunday.

Employees were locked inside the restaurant for hours following the shooting as police secured the scene and searched for suspects. Family members gathered outside the building late into the night, waiting for updates as officers moved in and out of the restaurant.

Authorities from multiple jurisdictions responded to the scene, shutting down the surrounding parking lot and portions of Route 22 as emergency crews worked to treat victims and clear the area. The scale of the response underscored the uncertainty investigators are still facing as they work to determine how many shooters were involved and whether the attack was targeted or random.

The Union County Prosecutor’s Office has confirmed that an “active and ongoing investigation” is underway, but officials have not released information regarding a motive.

New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill said she had been briefed on the shooting and that her administration is in contact with law enforcement officials on the ground. “My thoughts are with those who were injured in the shooting, and with their families,” Sherrill said in a statement.

Union Township, a suburban community of roughly 60,000 residents located about 15 miles west of New York City, remained on edge as the investigation stretched into Sunday. The Chick-fil-A remained an active crime scene late into the night as multiple law enforcement agencies worked to piece together what led to the attack.

Authorities say more information, including potential suspect descriptions and a clearer timeline of events, will be released as the investigation develops.

Local reporter Steven Tavares, author of the East Bay Insider, said that he had been covering Swalwell for more than a decade — beginning when he was just a member of the Dublin City Council — and that he and others had been well aware of Swalwell’s proclivities for years.

“I’ve covered Eric Swalwell since he was a member of the Dublin City Council. Shortly after being elected to Congress in 2013, his behavior towards women was known by all levels of our local government and the Alameda County Democratic Party,” Tavares posted via X, adding, “Don’t get it twisted. Nobody has been more critical of Swalwell over the years. I tried repeatedly to get the stories out. I can’t force women to speak out, and when they chose not to, I didn’t push. I also knew that Swalwell was known to threaten litigation.”

But as critics quickly pointed out, knowing information like that and not reporting it could put young women at risk. Radio host Dana Loesch summed it up: “And at no time did you think ‘Gee, maybe I should report about this?'”

“You’re giving yourself a lot of undeserved credit with the word ‘covered’ when you knew this information for at least 13 years (before Swalwell was in Congress!) and never reported it,” Republican commentator Tim Murtaugh added.

And it wasn’t just the local journalists who said they’d long had the dirt on Swalwell — and somehow none of them had gone public with that information either.

“This Swalwell situation was … shall we say widely rumored and it’s interesting that the gossip doesn’t seem to have made its way to all the big shots out west,” Bloomberg columnist Matthew Yglesias said.

Progressive activist and commentator Nomiki Konst was also among those claiming to have known years earlier that Swalwell’s behavior was problematic.

“Ok just to show how insane this is I was aggressively hit on two separate times by Eric Swalwell (one after a DNC meeting at the hotel in front of a ton of notable folks) and one in my DMs. I don’t think he remembered me from the first time when he hit me up in DMs,” she posted on Saturday.

“I showed disinterest & like many others, heard stories. Which makes me wonder why House leadership (who most certainly knew), continued to protect a member w/out looking into it,” she continued. “And how pathological of him to pressure and allegedly SA subordinates & think he was protected? … I hope the NY AGs office investigates thoroughly and it sends a message to other people in power who sexually abuse and harass to stop and get out of politics. And for other survivors to know they have a voice and power.”

But Konst also did not say anything until the story blew up.

“They’ve all known for years. It’s been an open secret. And I don’t say that as a guess,” Yashar Ali confirmed.

Shawn VanDiver, President of AfghanEvac, took a moment to apologize to everyone he’d ever introduced to Swalwell, saying in an X post, “The rumors about him weren’t new. They had been circulating for a long time, and many people were aware of them. When he asked for my support in the California gubernatorial race, I raised those concerns directly. He unequivocally denied them, dismissing it as Washington rumor mill nonsense and claiming there was no truth behind it. He framed it as behavior from when he was single, without recognizing or acknowledging the underlying power dynamics at play. I took him at his word. That was a mistake and a failure. I should have listened more carefully to the people who warned me. I regret not taking those concerns more seriously, and I regret the role I played in lending him credibility. We all need to do better about who we trust, who we elevate, and when we choose to look the other way.”

“Translation: I knew enough to ask and question him. I got a non-answer. So I chose my political relationship over the women in that orbit,” Matt Van Swol posted in response. “There’s a word for posting your moral awakening the same weekend a DA opens a criminal investigation. It’s called cowardice.”

“Absolutely wild how the Democratic Party covered up for Eric Swalwell for literally decades because it suited their political purposes,” Outkick’s Ian Miller observed.

Since the first accusations were reported on Friday, Swalwell has lost numerous endorsements and has faced calls to drop out of the California gubernatorial race — and some to resign from Congress as well. A letter from the congressman’s senior staff both in his congressional office and his gubernatorial campaign office announced that they were all leaving his employ and advised others to withdraw their support.

Swalwell has denied all of the accusations, calling them “flat false.”

The comments, delivered in a pair of posts on Truth Social, come after more than 20 hours of negotiations involving U.S., Iranian, and Pakistani officials. Trump said the talks produced movement on several fronts but ultimately broke down over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

“Iran is unwilling to give up its nuclear ambitions,” Trump wrote, reiterating his long-standing position that the regime will never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon. He doubled down on that position during a phone interview with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo, explaining that he was standing firm on that particular point because “I think they would use it.”

“It’s the easiest question you’ve asked me so far. They can’t have nuclear weapons,” says @POTUS on why Operation Epic Fury was critical.

“I think they would use it.” pic.twitter.com/MYupnZKyr5

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 12, 2026

According to Trump, he was briefed following the talks by Vice President JD Vance, along with senior envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. He also praised Pakistan’s leadership, specifically Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and military chief Asim Munir, calling them “very extraordinary men” and crediting them with helping facilitate the talks.

Trump said the negotiations stretched “throughout the night,” and suggested that while some secondary issues saw progress, none of it mattered given Iran’s position on nuclear development. He added that U.S. negotiators had developed a cordial working relationship with Iranian counterparts during the talks, but dismissed that as irrelevant to the outcome.

“My representatives became … very friendly and respectful … but that doesn’t matter,” Trump wrote, emphasizing that Iran remained “unyielding” on the nuclear issue.

Trump also sharply criticized Iran’s conduct in the Strait of Hormuz, accusing the regime of reneging on commitments to keep the critical waterway open. He said even claims that mines “may” be present were enough to paralyze global shipping markets, describing the situation as causing “anxiety, dislocation, and pain” for countries dependent on the route.

“They knowingly failed,” Trump wrote. “There is great dishonor and permanent harm to the reputation of Iran.”

In response, Trump announced that the United States will move forward with a naval blockade.

“Effective immediately, the United States Navy… will begin the process of blockading any and all ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.

The administration also plans to interdict vessels suspected of paying what Trump described as illegal tolls to Iran, while deploying forces to locate and destroy any mines in the waterway. Trump said no vessel that cooperates with Iran’s demands would be guaranteed safe passage.

He framed the move as both an economic and military response, warning that the United States is prepared to escalate further if necessary.

“We are fully locked and loaded,” Trump wrote, adding that any Iranian forces that engage U.S. ships or commercial vessels would be “blown to hell.”

Trump reiterated, during an appearance by phone on “Sunday Morning Futures” on Fox News, that Iran’s military capabilities have already been significantly degraded, asserting that much of its naval and air power is “gone.” He warned that continued defiance on the nuclear issue would only worsen Tehran’s position.

“They came in like they had the cards, but they don’t have the cards. Their army and their whole military is obliterated. The whole place is obliterated,” Trump explained.

.@POTUS on the Iranians: “They came in like they had the cards, but they don’t have the cards. Their army and their whole military is obliterated. The whole place is obliterated.” pic.twitter.com/6nonjAOnqx

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 12, 2026

The blockade, which Trump said will begin “shortly” and involve additional countries, marks a significant escalation following the Islamabad talks and underscores how little ground was gained on the core issue driving the conflict.

For all the latest Iran news, follow The Daily Wire’s live blog.