Indiana Suspends Gas Sales Tax Amid US–Iran War

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Indiana has suspended its gas sales tax for 30 days as prices keep rising amid the United States’ war with Iran.

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun (C) speaks during a press conference in Gary, Ind., on Oct. 30, 2025. Jamie Kelter Davis/Getty Images

Gov. Mike Braun announced the suspension on April 8.

“I am declaring a gas tax holiday to give Hoosiers relief from the pain at the pump from high gas prices,” Braun said in a statement. “Affordability is my top priority.”

Indiana’s state gas sales tax, also known as its gasoline use tax, is 7 percent. A separate excise tax of $0.36 cents a gallon is not affected by the suspension.

The 30-day reprieve could be extended, Braun’s office said.

Indiana officials are going to be “patrolling the pumps” to make sure that savings from the gas tax suspension go to Indiana residents, rather than retailers.

Braun also said the Indiana attorney general should enforce regulations prohibiting retailer price gouging.

“With the suspension of Indiana’s gas tax for the next 30 days, my office will closely monitor fuel prices to guard against any potential price gouging,” Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said in a statement.

The United States attacked Iran in February, sending the price of oil soaring.

On April 7, Iran and the United States agreed to a two-week cease-fire.

Oil prices dropped below $100 a barrel in the wake of the cease-fire agreement.

The average price per gallon in Indiana on Wednesday was $4.13, slightly lower than the $4.16 nationwide, according to the American Automobile Association.

The average in Indiana a week ago was $3.96, and the average a month ago was $3.46.

“Many Americans have been concerned to see the recent rise in gasoline prices here at home,” President Donald Trump said in a speech on April 1. “This short-term increase has been entirely the result of the Iranian regime launching deranged terror attacks against commercial oil tankers and neighboring countries that have nothing to do with the conflict.”

Georgia’s governor was the first in the nation to suspend his state’s gas tax. Gov. Brian Kemp on March 20 signed a bill suspending the state’s gas tax for 60 days.

Georgia’s tax is typically 33.3 cents per gallon.

Kemp also signed a bill that authorized $1.2 billion in income tax refunds.

“Hardworking Georgians know best how to spend their money, not the government,” he said in a statement. “That’s why I’m proud to sign these bills and, along with the General Assembly, deliver meaningful tax relief on top of the other measures we’ve taken in recent years. Because we budget conservatively, we can take steps like these that actually deliver on affordability issues for families in our state.”

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/09/2026 - 21:20

Turns Out the Elites Like The Administrative State Better Than Democracy

Authored by William L. Anderson via MisesInstitute,

If there is a mantra among progressive American political and media elites, it would be “our democracy,” usually preceded by what they believe to be a threat from the Right. For example, progressives deemed the recent reversal of Roe “a threat to our democracy” because it removed laws regulating abortion from Supreme Court jurisdiction and returned the issue to democratically elected legislatures.

It would seem inconsistent to invoke the democratic electoral process to deal with a contentious issue like abortion, but progressives are nothing if not inconsistent. But even in challenging logic on political issues, progressives at least try to stick to the language of democracy, and especially the language of “our democracy.”

However, occasionally progressive elites demonstrate their contempt for democracy because they realize that the democratic process is not going to have the desired progressive results because voters and their representatives do not want to knowingly harm themselves.

Recently, the New York Times, in a progressive moment of truth, reacted to the US Supreme Court’s decision in West Virginia v. EPA, in which the court ruled that because carbon dioxide is not among the pollutants regulated by the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, the Environmental Protection Agency could not enforce CO2 emissions rules for electric power plants.

In its 6–3 ruling, the SCOTUS indicated that Congress was free to pass legislation to regulate carbon dioxide but that the EPA was not free to simply add it to its list of regulated power plant emissions on its own. In other words, the high court declared that democratically elected members of the US House and Senate are free to write (and pass) any anti–climate change legislation they choose. This is what the ancients once called democracy.

Not surprisingly, the NYT went ballistic, and in so doing exposed the progressive mentality, with its affinity for rule by “experts.” Declared the newspaper’s editorial board:

Thursday’s ruling also has consequences far beyond environmental regulation. It threatens the ability of federal agencies to issue rules of any kind, including the regulations that ensure the safety of food, medicines and other consumer products, that protect workers from injuries and that prevent financial panics.

The ruling did no such thing. Instead, the court said that federal regulatory agencies are not free to create and enforce rules outside of their statutory authority. The EPA had simply declared itself the official power plant CO2 emissions regulator under the Obama administration despite the fact that Democrats had a supermajority in the US Senate and a huge majority in the House and theoretically could have passed a law giving new regulatory powers to the EPA. That Congress did not do so is instructive.

In other words, this was an extralegal power grab but one approved by elites because, well, elites know more than everyone else. The NYT editorial continued:

In 1984, an earlier generation of conservative Supreme Court justices formalized a doctrine of deference to the judgment of regulatory agencies, modestly concluding that judges were neither experts nor elected officials, and therefore ought to leave such decisions in other hands. In Thursday’s decision, the court asserted that the policy of deference applies only to supposedly unimportant regulations. When it comes to “major questions” of regulatory policy, the court said, it would not hesitate to second-guess regulators—and to strike rules that it decided did not have a clear congressional warrant.

The decision amounts to a warning shot across the bow of the administrative state. The court’s current conservative majority, engaged in a counterrevolution against the norms of American society, is seeking to curtail the efforts of federal regulators to protect the public’s health and safety. The court already invoked a similar logic during the Covid pandemic to strike down workplace Covid testing requirements and a federal moratorium on evictions. And by refraining from defining a threshold for what constitutes a “major question,” the court is leaving a sword hanging over every new rule. (emphasis mine)

The “administrative state,” of course, is anything but democratic; it is autocratic to the core. For all of their professed love for democracy, progressives have long demanded rule by experts, or at least rule by “experts” that meet progressive approval. As I pointed out last year, when actual scientists studied the effects of so-called acid rain and concluded that it was not causing lake and river acidification, progressives in the media, as well as EPA administrators, immediately tried to destroy the careers of scientists failing to echo the party line. Not surprisingly, one of the loudest antiscience voices in the acid rain affair was the New York Times.

Furthermore, for all the “experts know best” rhetoric in the NYT editorial, there is no proof that the administrative state governs as effectively as democracy, which elites pretend to love. The “experts” at the Federal Reserve believed they could substitute trillions of printed dollars for actual production of goods without creating monetary chaos. In western forests, the “experts” at the US Forest Service have had fire suppression policies in place for more than a century, and the result has been that what were once mere forest fires have become destructive conflagrations that burn so hot that they often destroy the scorched soil’s ability to generate postfire growth.

The ”experts” at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention imposed policies that precipitated massive job losses, caused unnecessary premature death from ailments other than covid-19, and still failed to promote adequate information about the virus and its origins. Education “experts” have created one educational crisis after another, and so on. Rule by experts—the administrative state—has caused destruction whenever it is invoked, yet the editors at the “newspaper of record” have failed to notice.

Instead, they proclaim eternal fealty to what only can be called a failed experiment in governance, not to mention that it is antidemocratic. Yet, the NYT editors cannot keep from claiming loyalty to both forms of governance, even when they contradict one another:

Congress has decided, and with good reason, that regulatory agencies staffed by experts are the best available mechanism for a representative democracy to make decisions in areas of technical complexity. The E.P.A. is the entity that Congress relies upon to figure out how clean the air should be, and how to get there. Asserting that it lacks the power to perform its basic responsibilities is simply sabotage.

There is much to dissect in those words, but suffice it to say that to assume that EPA decision makers have the kind of knowledge and expertise implied in that editorial is to foolishly demonstrate faith in something that inevitably fails. Far from being near-omniscient sages of science, the bureaucrats making life-altering decisions at the EPA are people who bear no costs if they impose unnecessary burdens on the lives of ordinary people but who also find that the more draconian their edicts, the greater the praise from environmental interest groups and, of course, the New York Times. What possibly could go wrong?

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/09/2026 - 20:55

War On The Shore: Maryland Dem Officials Freak Out At Journalists Ahead Of Exposé On Governor

The Democratic kings and queens in the one-party–ruled state of Maryland are absolutely panicking, something that should not be happening in a deep-blue state, as their crown jewel, left-wing Gov. Wes Moore, a prospective Democratic presidential candidate, has seen polling data implode. High taxes, surging power bills, a state budget crisis, poor leadership, and even questions about honesty have sparked voter backlash on both sides of the political aisle. 

In the battle for narrative control, Moore's office and the Democratic Party's propaganda machine have launched a preemptive campaign against The Baltimore Sun's forthcoming investigative series, which is expected to release an exposé on Moore. 

"The Baltimore Sun used to be our paper of record," Moore recently told MS NOW host Jen Psaki, a former White House press secretary who made a career at covering up Biden's mental decline. "It's now become the paper of the right wing."

Democrats have been upset that, in deep-blue Baltimore and across the state, right-leaning Sinclair executive chairman David Smith now owns the paper. As a result, The Sun has shifted from promoting left-wing conspiracies and all things DEI to more balanced, center-right content.

The loss of narrative power at The Sun is what truly irritates Democratic leadership in the state, as their inability to control the narrative has caused Moore's polling numbers to drop significantly.

"Democrats sure are putting in a lot of work to discredit a series before it's even started running. That alone should raise a question: why?" Candy Woodall, former national political reporter at USA Today, now managing editor of Spotlight on Maryland, a local investigative reporting collaboration of WBFF45 (owned by Sinclair), wrote on X. 

Woodall Continued: 

In January, I was warned directly that if Spotlight continued its investigation into Gov. Wes Moore's military records—and one of his superiors—that his office would send files to every media reporter to try and discredit us.

We saw the same playbook in 2022 when a FOX45 reporter asked why Moore allowed claims that he had received a Bronze Star that he didn't have at the time. His team accused the reporter and media outlet of bias and a smear campaign. Two years later, after the New York Times wrote about the Bronze Star Moore hadn't received, the narrative changed, and the governor said it was "an honest mistake." In an August 2024 statement on his military record, Moore acknowledged he knew before leaving Afghanistan that he had not received the award.

Spotlight's reporting digs deeper into Moore's military records and more, and our investigative series will begin to publish soon. This is standard journalism to scrutinize the words and records of elected officials and candidates who hold positions of power and public trust. Our loyalty is to the Maryland public we serve — not any public official or political party.

Our work has been fair. We've sent hundreds of questions. Most have gone unanswered. We've offered multiple sit-down interviews with the governor and his staff. They have declined repeated requests.

Moore's office hasn't seen a word of this series yet, but the governor and his communications staff are actively campaigning and peddling a narrative to smear it. In fact, his director of media strategy said this week of us, "They don't deserve to be treated like a news outlet and nothing that comes out of Sinclair should be taken seriously." They continued this effort last night in an interview on MSNOW with Jen Psaki, Biden's former press secretary.

The real questions you should be asking right now: Why don't they want you to read the series? What is it they don't want you to know? And if we're so wrong about everything, why not just release the records and prove it?

If you want to know more, keep reading The Baltimore Sun, a 200-year-old newspaper that has survived many governors.

Democrats sure are putting in a lot of work to discredit a series before it's even started running. That alone should raise a question: why?

In January, I was warned directly that if Spotlight continued its investigation into Gov. Wes Moore's military records—and one of his… https://t.co/5e0TF84YIa

— Candy Woodall (@candynotcandace) April 8, 2026

After The New York Times reported in 2024 that Moore had falsely claimed to have received a Bronze Star for his service in Afghanistan, a controversy over his military record intensified. Spotlight on Maryland later picked up the investigative baton at the local level.

Moore's team responded aggressively on X, in what appeared to be a bid to discredit the reporters - even dismissing one Fox Baltimore reporter as "not a journalist."

You're not a journalist.

You're a former Republican party official working at the direction of your Trump supporting boss. https://t.co/CLzLzHHsb3

— Ammar Moussa (@ammarmufasa) April 8, 2026

Democrats have reason to worry about any major forthcoming exposé on Moore. His Polymarket odds of becoming the Democratic Party's 2028 presidential nominee currently sit at just 1%.

//--> //--> Will Wes Moore win the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination?
Yes 1% · No 99%
View full market & trade on Polymarket

The real issue for Democrats is that Smith of Sinclair is single-handedly chipping away at their core abilities to run counter-narratives, which has eroded Moore's odds of leapfrogging from the financially troubled state to the White House.

In recent weeks, Moore was greeted by a stadium full of boos during Orioles Opening Day in Baltimore City, a major stronghold for progressives. This should never be happening to a left-wing governor in the state.

Gov. Wes Moore was booed by the crowd ahead of the Orioles home opener on Thursday. https://t.co/KdJaF2jx68 pic.twitter.com/pA0p6G2z8m

— FOX Baltimore (@FOXBaltimore) March 26, 2026

But it is his sheer incompetence in serving as proper stewards of the state and prioritizing DEI, woke, illegal aliens, over Marylanders that has sparked voter backlash. Stuff like this:

Maryland Delegate Kathy Szeliga (R) EMBARESSES Democrats who want to force "appropriately sized tampons" into men's bathrooms.

Szeliga: "I've never heard of such a thing... what do you consider appropriate???"pic.twitter.com/jjasHIMtRE https://t.co/gsjXEzXVre

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 24, 2026

Moore smiling with far-left radical Alex Soros. 

Only a matter of time before the Moore team taps the Soros nonprofit team for help. Unless they already have... 

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/09/2026 - 20:30

'World's First' Humanoid Robot For Real Household Chores Launched With 16-Hour Battery

Authored by Jijo Malayil via Interesting Engineering,

Chinese robotics firm UniX AI has unveiled Panther, touted as the world’s first service humanoid robot to enter real household deployment.

UniX AI has commenced global deliveries of Panther, bringing service humanoid robots into real homes.UniX AI

Panther is a third-generation full-size wheeled dual-arm humanoid robot, and UniX AI has commenced global deliveries.

The robot stands about 5 feet 3 inches tall, weighs around 176 pounds (80 kilograms), and operates for 8 to 16 hours on a single charge.

According to the Suzhou-based firm, its design focuses on usability and reliable performance in complex indoor environments, marking a significant step toward bringing general-purpose humanoid robots into everyday settings.

Stable service robot

Panther is a wheeled dual-arm humanoid robot designed for real-world deployment across home, commercial, and industrial settings - and is equipped with an omnidirectional, four-wheel-steering, four-wheel-drive (4WS+4WD) chassis, enabling agile movement and stable operation in complex indoor environments. According to the UniX AI, the wheeled architecture marks a departure from the more common legged humanoid approach, which is combined with general-purpose AI models, offering improved efficiency and practicality for deployment.

According to UniX AI, the robot features 34 high-degree-of-freedom joints, including the world’s first mass-produced 8-DoF bionic arms and adaptive intelligent grippers, allowing precise and flexible manipulation.

Furthermore, it is equipped with cameras, sensors, and audio input systems that support object recognition, indoor navigation, and interaction with people. The system is designed to perform multi-step tasks rather than isolated actions, allowing it to execute complete sequences of activities.

“With our integrated trinity of algorithms, hardware, and applications, we have already scaled from lab validation to mass delivery, and from local deployment to global expansion,” said Fred Yang, Founder and CEO of UniX AI, in a statement.

Multi-task humanoid

In demonstrations and early deployments, the robot has shown the ability to handle a variety of domestic tasks. These include waking users, preparing breakfast, cleaning rooms, organizing household items, and operating certain appliances. It can also sort and move objects as part of routine household workflows.

The robot is built to manage continuous task sequences efficiently. For example, it can wake a user in the morning, prepare a meal, clean the kitchen afterward, and organize the living space, demonstrating coordinated, multi-step task execution in real-world home environments.

Panther, evolved from the Wanda 2.0 platform, introduces an 80 cm vertical lift of the upper body, enabling both elevated reach and ground-level operation. It operates on an upgraded 48V power platform, delivering higher output along with improved stability for high-speed control and dynamic movements.

Panther is powered by UniX AI’s integrated technology stack. UniFlex enables efficient cross-scenario task generalization and imitation learning. UniTouch combines visuo-tactile multimodal models to improve precision handling and interactive capabilities with enhanced stability. UniCortex supports long-term task planning, enabling the robot to execute complex, multi-step operations seamlessly.

According to the firm, the system is designed for a wide range of real-world applications. These include commercial services such as hotels, reception, retail, and guided tours; home and personal uses like household tasks, elderly care, and companionship; and public or industrial roles including security patrols, research, and education.

Experts say household robots still face hurdles, including cluttered environments, varied lighting, and handling soft objects. Challenges in navigation, appliance interaction, battery life, cost, safety, and reliability remain. However, robots performing multiple domestic tasks indicate that fully functional home assistants managing daily chores are gradually moving closer to reality.

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/09/2026 - 20:05

Pentagon Seeks Stunning 243x Budget Surge For Drone Warfare Unit As Eurasian Wars Reshape Combat

Buried in the Department of War's Fiscal Year 2027 procurement request is a massive increase for the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group (DAWG), a clear acknowledgment that ongoing conflicts across Eurasia have underscored one hard lesson: cheap kamikaze drones can impose outsized costs on traditional militaries. The substantial surge in the budget request also signals growing urgency within the DoW to field these drones at scale.

The defense and aerospace news publication Inside Defense was the first to report on the DoW's massive budget request for the autonomous drone warfare group. The budget would skyrocket from $225 million this year to potentially $54.6 billion next year:

The Pentagon's fiscal year 2027 budget request seeks a massive expansion of the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group, setting a $54.6 billion budget for the relatively obscure team -- a jaw-dropping increase over the $225 million the effort received in FY-26, signaling a major emphasis on autonomous drones across the military services.

The dramatic surge in requested funding represents one of the most substantial allocations outside the traditional service accounts, reflecting the Pentagon's broader commitment to autonomous warfare capabilities, which have....

Details surrounding DAWG appear to center on scaling autonomous warfare capabilities, especially drones and related systems, though the effort remains little known publicly.

Another picture of a Starlink mounted on a Low-Cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) drone https://t.co/SDVp4gZjCK pic.twitter.com/LyxwcL5fso

— Robin (@xdNiBoR) December 4, 2025

Related:

• US Launched Kamikaze Drones Against Iran, Reflecting Lessons Learned From Ukraine

The sheer size of the request - a 243-fold increase - signals a much broader, military-wide push in the coming years to institutionalize autonomous weapons. This comes amid lessons learned not only from the Russia-Ukraine war, but also from the current US-Iran conflict, where inexpensive one-way Iranian attack drones have wreaked havoc on US military bases, Gulf energy assets, and civilian infrastructure such as data centers and water desalination plants.

We also suspect there will be a major push to develop and field low-cost interceptor solutions to counter these inexpensive drones, rather than relying on multimillion-dollar missiles. We have already highlighted this theme here.

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/09/2026 - 19:40

USPS Pauses Pension Contributions Amid Looming Cash Shortfall

Authored by Bill Pan via The Epoch Times,

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has temporarily suspended its employer contributions to a government-wide pension plan after warning Congress that, without changes, it could run out of cash within the next year.

On Thursday, USPS told the Office of Personnel Management—the federal government’s human resource division—that it would pause its biweekly employer contributions to the Federal Employees Retirement System, or FERS.

The move is expected to conserve about $2.5 billion through Sept. 30, the end of the current fiscal year, according to USPS. The mail agency typically pays about $200 million every other week into the plan.

USPS Chief Financial Officer Luke Grossmann said the temporary withholding would have no “immediate detrimental impact” on current or future retirees. He said the agency would continue forwarding employees’ own FERS contributions, as well as all regularly scheduled payments to the Thrift Savings Plan, another retirement program for federal workers.

“The risk to the Postal Service and the American public from insufficient liquidity for postal operations dramatically outweighs any longer-term risk to the pension funds from not making the currently due payments,” Grossmann said.

Although USPS is generally required by law to make the payments, the Postal Regulatory Commission granted the agency a waiver that gives it flexibility to catch up later.

The cash-saving measure comes as postal officials warn Congress of the agency’s deteriorating finances. At a March 17 hearing, Postmaster General David Steiner told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that USPS could become unable to continue delivering mail by February 2027 if it keeps paying all of its bills on time under the current structure.

“Less than a year from now, the Postal Service will be unable to deliver the mail if we maintain the status quo,” he said in his testimony.

According to Steiner, USPS has already had to rely on extraordinary cash-conservation measures, and he warned that lawmakers might have to consider steps such as reducing delivery frequency from six days a week to five or fewer. He also floated the idea of hiking first-class stamp prices to as high as 95 cents.

“At 78 cents, the U.S. First-Class Stamp is the lowest-priced in the industrialized world,” Steiner told lawmakers at the hearing.

“If we were to change the stamp price to 90 to 95 cents, which is still less than half of the cost of most foreign posts, that would largely solve our controllable loss.”

USPS has struggled financially for years as first-class mail volumes continue to decline and operating costs rise. According to a report published in March by U.S. Government Accountability Office, it has lost money every fiscal year but one since 2007, accumulating a staggering $118 billion in net losses over that time.

The agency has also turned to temporary price hikes to help cover operation costs. The Postal Regulatory Commission has approved an 8 percent temporary increase on priority mail and package prices beginning April 26 and lasting through Jan. 17, 2027.

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/09/2026 - 19:15

Minnesota Whistleblower Alleges Years Of 'Reckless Disregard' At Fraud-Plagued Agency

Authored by Janice Hisle via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Seven years after Faye Bernstein first blew the whistle on waste, fraud, and abuse concerns, “nothing is changing” at the Minnesota Department of Human Services, she told lawmakers during an April 7 hearing at the state Capitol in St. Paul.

Faye Bernstein, a whistleblower who works for the Minnesota Department of Human Services, testifies before the state's Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy Committee in St. Paul, Minn., on April 7, 2026. Screenshot via The Epoch Times/The Minnesota House of Representatives' video livestream

As a 20-year employee who still works for the department while facing alleged demotion and retaliation over her complaints, “I still see a reckless disregard for compliance,” she told the state’s Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy Committee.

Bernstein, a former compliance officer at the agency that faces heightened national scrutiny over massive fraud scandals, gave an example supporting her opinion. She said she learned that, about a year ago, “someone had falsified the audit tracker,” an important internal record that helps workers ensure they remedy problems identified in audits.

“When I heard that, I thought, ‘My gosh, somebody’s getting fired for that!’” Bernstein said; instead, managers excused the falsification, indicating “that person had simply made a mistake, that maybe she didn’t understand instructions,” she said.

“The lackadaisical attitude we have about even keeping track of our findings will partially explain” why some of those same findings recurred in an audit released in January, she said. The audit noted some of the same issues that Bernstein reported in 2019.

After Bernstein’s testimony, the agency’s commissioner, Shireen Gandhi, testified. She pledged to “build a culture of compliance,” and to ensure that all staff members understand their roles and “have the knowledge, skills, and authority to fulfill those responsibilities.”

State Rep. Isaac Schultz, a Republican who serves on the anti-fraud committee, told Gandhi:  “I hope that more people [like Bernstein] continue to shine light on what’s going on inside of your department, because I have a really hard time trusting what leadership is saying to us.”

Another committee member, Democratic state Rep. Steve Elkins, gave Gandhi credit for owning up to problems that the audit revealed.

Having been elected in 2018, Elkins has read quite a few audits. Each one includes a response from the agency that was audited. Typically, “that letter is deflecting, denying, minimizing,” he said.

“This is the first time ... where the head of the agency stepped up and said almost everything in the report was accurate, and this is what we’re going to do about it, and this is when we’re going to have it done, and this is the person who’s responsible for getting it done,” Elkins said. “And I think that that’s a remarkable turnaround.”

Shireen Gandhi, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Services, answers questions at a meeting of the state's Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy Committee in St. Paul, Minn., on April 7, 2026. Screenshot via The Epoch Times/The Minnesota House of Representatives' video livestream Lawmaker Urges: ‘Draw a Line in the Sand’

Minnesota’s government-program fraud dating to 2018 could reach $9 billion or more, prosecutors have said. Fraud concerns have expanded nationwide; the national leader may turn out to be California, where scammers may have bilked taxpayers out of “hundreds of billions” of dollars, a federal prosecutor said.

Many of Minnesota’s still-emerging fraud scandals involve programs that are now under Gandhi’s purview. She has worked for the agency since 2017 and has headed it since last year; Gov. Tim Walz made her temporary appointment permanent earlier this year.

State Rep. Kristin Robbins, a Republican who chairs the fraud-prevention committee, told Gandhi: “The most important thing is to make sure we’re being good stewards of taxpayer money.”

“As Ms. Bernstein said, we’ve been talking about this for years ... so we have to draw a line in the sand and say: ‘We are not going to allow this to continue anymore,’” Robbins said.

Robbins and other committee members repeatedly asked Gandhi about holding people accountable when procedures aren’t followed or when records are falsified; the latest audit revealed that employees created new records—and backdated them—in the midst of the auditors’ probe.

“I was shocked to hear this information,” Gandhi told the committee, calling any such fabrications “absolutely unacceptable.” However, Gandhi said state law prohibits her from revealing details of the internal investigation into the falsified records.

When Robbins inquired further, Gandhi said information was presented to state authorities for possible criminal charges. The agency is also putting together internal processes “for preventing and catching this sort of issue going forward,” Gandhi said.

Minnesota Rep. Kristin Robbins, chair of the state's Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy Committee, in St. Paul, Minn., on April 7, 2026. Screenshot via The Epoch Times/The Minnesota House of Representatives' video livestream No-Bid Contracts Awarded, Procedures Not Followed

In mid-2025, lawmakers approved a two-year budget of $17 billion for Gandhi’s agency, accounting for 40 percent of the state’s total budget, state legislative records show.

One branch of the department, the Behavioral Health Administration, distributed more than $2 billion in grants from July 2022 to December 2024. The money goes to businesses and organizations that provide mental-health or substance-abuse services.

However, during that 29-month span, the state agency “did not comply with most requirements we tested,” Valentina Stone, an audit director for the Office of Legislative Auditor, testified to the fraud committee.

Auditors found 13 problems that need to be fixed to safeguard taxpayers’ money, including four recurrent issues, Stone said.

During the study period, the agency handled 830 unique grant agreements. Auditors combed several batches of those grants, looking for compliance with different “internal controls”—rules and procedures to ensure proper use and tracking of money.

Among 24 grants examined for compliance with competitive-bidding rules, auditors found the agency had inappropriately awarded more than half of them. The agency doled out five grants totaling $4.7 million without seeking competitive bids first or giving a reason for skipping that process.

Other tests revealed more internal-controls violations. The agency paid grantees even before grant agreements were signed, failed to visit providers to ensure they were complying with agreements to render services, and awarded new grants to past providers without reviewing how those providers performed.

“It concerns me greatly ... that money is still going out the door in real time to some of these same grantees when these processes haven’t been tightened up,” Robbins said.

In March, a separate audit of Human Services’ fraud-ridden autism-treatment reimbursement program found that the agency mistakenly believed that it lacked authority to probe allegations of kickbacks without evidence of another alleged offense. The problem appears to have stemmed from a decades-old definition of “fraud” that failed to explicitly list kickbacks, which are illegal payments to people who cooperate with scammers.

* * *

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/09/2026 - 18:25

Israel Lifts Restrictions At Jerusalem Holy Sites, Ben Gurion Airport Fully Reopened, Normalcy Returns

Israeli cities have suffered heavy bombardment under Iranian and Hezbollah missiles over the past many weeks going back to the start of Trump's Operation Epic Fury on February 28, but the start of the fragile Iran ceasefire has seen the bombs halted, at least for now.

A sense of normalcy is finally returning across Israeli society, after millions of citizens have on a daily basis had to scramble to get to bomb shelters. Emergency restrictions have been lifted across most parts of the country, and even holy sites in Jerusalem are being opened back up, after Israeli authorities starting last month severely restricted access.

Near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem. Shutterstock

Jerusalem police on Thursday announced the removal of all restrictions and deployed hundreds of officers and volunteers across the city.

Access to Christian, Jewish, and Muslim holy sites was either fully prohibited or limited to small groups, amid the prior daily barrage of Iranian missile and drone attacks.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound has been reopened too. It had remained closed for much of Ramadan and the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which was somewhat unprecedented in recent history. This created immense tensions between Palestinian Muslims and Israeli security forces.

Roman Catholics and Western Christians were severely limited during last weekend's Easter observances at the Church Of The Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City.

However, the Iran ceasefire and reopening coincides with upcoming Orthodox Christian Easter (Pascha) celebrations on Sunday.

Typically tens of thousands of Christian pilgrims from Russia, Greece, Eastern Europe and elsewhere descend on Jerusalem ahead of Orthodox Holy week, however, travel difficulties and the threat of renewed war have had a chilling effect, and much fewer are expected to attend.

Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III led a group of clergy members to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for prayers on Palm Sunday, following restrictions on gatherings in large groups in Jerusalem's Old City pic.twitter.com/vTDupzFQEb

— Reuters (@Reuters) April 5, 2026

Israeli police may still move to limit gatherings, and typically they set up barricades in various parts of the Old City in and around the Christian quarter in the name of imposing greater security.

Still, there's a sense of optimism, but Israeli raids in Lebanon have kept things unpredictable. Iran has been warning against ongoing Israeli strikes on Beirut and elsewhere, and so the war could be renewed at any moment.

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/09/2026 - 18:00

ChatGPT Accused Of Aiding Florida State Mass Shooter

Authored by Steve Watson via modernity.news,

Big Tech’s leading AI faces growing accusations of enabling violence rather than preventing it.

Attorneys representing the family of Robert Morales, killed in the April 17, 2025, Florida State University shooting, announced plans to sue OpenAI and ChatGPT. The law firm Brooks, LeBoeuf, Foster, Gwartney and Hobbs stated the suspected gunman, Phoenix Ikner, was in “constant communication” with the chatbot leading up to the attack.

Ikner opened fire outside the FSU student union, killing Morales, a 57-year-old Aramark worker and father, and Tiru Chabba, 45, a vendor from South Carolina. Six others were wounded. Court records list more than 270 images of ChatGPT conversations as exhibits.

BREAKING: Florida State University gunman had 270+ chats with ChatGPT right before the shooting that left 2 people dead.

Victims’ attorney just said it “may have advised the shooter how to commit these heinous crimes.”

ChatGPT acted as mass murder consultant. pic.twitter.com/odQYv9LOg8

— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) April 7, 2026

The firm declared: “We have reason to believe that ChatGPT may have advised the shooter how to commit these heinous crimes. We will therefore file suit against ChatGPT, and its ownership structure, very soon, and will seek to hold them accountable for the untimely and senseless death of our client, Mr. Morales.”

A mass shooter used ChatGPT to plan the FSU shooting, killing 2 and injuring 5.

ChatGPT advised the shooter on executing the deadly shooting on a college campus.

There are more than 270 ChatGPT conversations listed as exhibits in the case.

This is now the 20th death tied to…

— Katie Miller (@KatieMiller) April 8, 2026

Recent coverage also notes newly released chat logs where Ikner reportedly asked ChatGPT about school shootings and the busiest times on campus.

One post referenced details such as the chatbot informing him the Student Union was busiest between 11:30am and 1:30pm, with the shooting occurring at 11:57am.

The New York Post reported the claims in detail.

ChapGPT helped Florida State University gunman plan mass shooting, victim's attorney claims https://t.co/NDv8zx2Zbg pic.twitter.com/m2tavLoLAx

— New York Post (@nypost) April 8, 2026

OpenAI responded by saying they identified an account believed to be associated with the suspect after the shooting, proactively shared information with law enforcement, and cooperated fully. They claim to build ChatGPT to respond safely and continue improving safeguards.

Yet the body count linked to such interactions keeps rising, while the company’s selective enforcement and post-incident cooperation fail to reassure victims’ families preparing legal action.

This incident follows another high-profile case. In February 2026, Canadian trans shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar carried out a deadly attack at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.

OpenAI employees were alarmed by his disturbing ChatGPT messages and discussed alerting authorities, but the company chose not to notify police beforehand, instead banning the account.

Canadian trans shooter's disturbing ChatGPT messages alarmed employees - but company never alerted cops https://t.co/Jl8KhxKZeo pic.twitter.com/Mi8BNrsRFZ

— New York Post (@nypost) February 21, 2026

They only contacted law enforcement after the shooting. A family has already sued OpenAI over that incident as well.

FAMILY SUES OPENAI: “CHATGPT HELPED PLAN MASS SHOOTING”

A lawsuit says the Tumbler Ridge shooter used ChatGPT to help plan the attack, and that employees allegedly flagged the chats as an imminent risk before anyone got hurt.

Source: NewsForce pic.twitter.com/SulETFiGtR

— NewsForce (@Newsforce) March 11, 2026

These developments echo earlier warnings. ChatGPT once provided detailed suicide instructions and drug-and-alcohol guidance when prompted as a fake 13-year-old.

Studies have found that as many as one in four teens now rely on AI therapy bots for mental health support, raising questions about vulnerable users interacting with systems that appear inconsistent on harm prevention.

ChatGPT’s selective ideological programming has also been repeatedly called into question. For example, it once refused a hypothetical request to quietly utter a racial slur even to save a billion white people.

Americans expect technology that upholds safety and individual responsibility, not systems that lecture on ethics while allegedly guiding violence. The mounting lawsuits and documented failures demand accountability from OpenAI and scrutiny of the priorities embedded in its models. Until Big Tech prioritizes preventing real-world harm over narrative control, these tragedies risk becoming a grim pattern rather than isolated failures.

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/09/2026 - 17:40

Massachusetts Governor Uses Donut Holes To Explain The State Energy Crisis She Caused

The Democrat tendency to talk down to their constituencies as if they are children has become a mainstay of American political discourse in the past several years.  This behavior is rooted in a simmering arrogance among the political class, but it also tends to expose their lack of understanding when it comes to some of the more basic economic and industrial concepts. 

In other words, Democrats treat people as if people are dumb because they are, in fact, dumb.

I just signed an Executive Order to bring enough energy into Massachusetts to power 2 million homes — and save families and businesses $10 million.

So how does our all-of-the-above energy strategy actually lower your bills?

Let’s break it down in terms everyone understands:… pic.twitter.com/BijgHM5XTB

— Governor Maura Healey (@MassGovernor) April 6, 2026

Maura Healey, the Governor of Massachusetts, has been in office since 2023. A Democrat, she boasts of being the first woman and first "openly LGBT" person elected to the position.  Her administration's focus is dedicated to climate change issues, which plays a large part in the reasons why MA is currently facing record high power prices and an overall energy crisis. 

As Attorney General and Governor, Healey has pursued a lawsuit against Exxon for "not disclosing" climate risks caused by their products to investors and consumers through marketing campaigns.  Of course, there are no "climate risks" caused by Exxon's products.  Why would they disclose a risk that doesn't exist?

In November 2024, Healey signed "Clean Energy" legislation which includes reforms to prevent natural gas expansion by limiting gas utility investments that conflict with climate change mandates. This disrupts the creation of new fossil fuel infrastructure in an attempt to "phase down" public reliance on gas and redirect focus toward green energy. Critics argue that these policies hinder gas reliability and raise long-term costs for citizens of MA.  

Since Healey took office, gas heating prices in MA have risen by 35%-50% and electricity prices are listed among top five most expensive states in the US.  Massachusetts already had high energy rates before Healey, but they surged after her climate change policies were implemented. 

 

Green energy, as everyone knows, is far less efficient than oil, gas or coal (20% to 60% less efficient depending on the source).  State programs that prioritize green tech while suppressing carbon based energy usually result in higher prices for everyone while also creating a bottleneck and shortages during weather related disasters or global supply chain disruptions. 

When Healey holds up donut holes as a representation of Massachusetts' limited energy resources, what she doesn't mention is that, unlike donut holes, not all energy sources are the same.  Wind power or solar power is far less reliable and efficient compared to natural gas.  Electric vehicles often still rely on power generated by coal and natural gas.  Around 75% of MA's energy output comes from natural gas because it is by far the most reliable and affordable source. 

Healey's solution for storage (green tech, batteries, etc.) is far less practical and far more expensive.  Natural gas storage is vastly superior in terms of cost and energy output.  Massachusetts doesn't have below ground storage for gas, but relying on storage in other states is still cheaper than the billions of dollars they would need to build battery-based storage in MA.  

The Governor then, of course, goes on to blame Donald Trump's opposition to green tech development as the cause of higher prices.  Keep in mind, prices exploded in MA well before Trump took office in 2025.  Furthermore, Trump's criticisms are completely reasonable.

First, climate change theories are a sham.  There is no concrete evidence of a causation relationship between carbon, human industry and global warming.  None.  In fact, the atmospheric carbon record for the past 400 million years doesn't match the temperature record in the slightest. 

And, temperatures today are far cooler than they have been in the past. That is to say, we are nowhere near record high temperatures for the Earth.  Climate scientists make these claims based on records that only go back around 140 years, which is an extremely narrow time window.

Meaning, the pursuit of green tech in the name of saving the planet is pointless, and it's causing economic suffering for the citizenry.  Green energy might one day be efficient enough to supply ample power to the world, but for now it has hobbled legitimate energy production.  Today, most financial resources should be put into oil, coal, gas and perhaps nuclear (nuclear plants take 6-10 years to build, plus another 5 years for approval). 

Climate obsessed Democrats like Healey are the primary cause of high energy prices in blue states.  It is undeniable.     

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/09/2026 - 17:20

FCC Set To Vote on Easing Satellite Power Rules, Boosting SpaceX's Starlink

Authored by Kimberly Hayek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced Wednesday it will vote on an order to revamp satellite spectrum-sharing rules that would benefit low-Earth orbit broadband providers - and SpaceX stands to gain the most.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Starlink satellites is seen over Sebastian Inlet after launching from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Feb. 26, 2025. Sam Wolfe/Reuters

“By discarding last century’s satellite regulations, we could see billions of dollars in benefits for the American economy and broadband speeds many times faster than what is available today,” FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in a statement.

“This overdue rethinking of space spectrum sharing rules will bring greater competition to the broadband marketplace and reduce the number of satellites needed to serve a given area.”

The vote on April 30 could reshape how tens of millions of Americans, particularly those in rural communities, connect to the internet from space.

The proposed order would raise the power levels that low-earth orbit (LEO) operators are permitted to use in frequency bands shared with incumbent geostationary orbit systems. For SpaceX, whose Starlink network already spans more than 10,000 satellites, the change would mean substantially faster and more reliable service.

Not everyone is on board. Geostationary operators, including Viasat, SES, and DIRECTV, have opposed the move, arguing that allowing Starlink to transmit at higher power would cause damaging interference to their own networks.

In a filing submitted Tuesday, DIRECTV told the agency that SpaceX’s interference studies contain “significant unresolved questions.”

SpaceX has dismissed those concerns as a defense of the status quo. 

“The question of whether the [equivalent power flux density] framework harms consumers by unnecessarily constraining [LEO] services has been definitively resolved: it does,” SpaceX wrote last month. The company added that the current rules unfairly favor what it called outdated satellite systems while leaving rural users underserved.

The FCC appeared to agree. The agency said in its release that “government-imposed overprotection of GSO systems has meant that American households and businesses—most critically in rural and remote areas—do not receive the fastest space-based broadband American innovation has available.”

The international power limits at the center of the dispute were established in the 1990s and were designed to shield geostationary satellites from interference caused by lower-orbiting constellations. At the time, LEO broadband networks like Starlink did not yet exist.

The FCC took an early step toward reform in January, when it approved 7,500 additional second-generation Starlink satellites and granted SpaceX a temporary waiver from the power restrictions while the agency’s broader rulemaking proceeded.

SpaceX has argued that the existing Equivalent Power Flux Density (EPFD) limits rely on obsolete computer models that fail to account for modern beamforming and interference-mitigation technologies now standard in newer satellite systems.

As of March, Starlink’s constellation comprised more than 10,020 satellites in low Earth orbit, accounting for roughly 65 percent of all active satellites worldwide, with more than 10 million subscribers reported as of February.

A formal vote on the new power rules would mark the most consequential shift in satellite spectrum policy in a generation.

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/09/2026 - 17:00

Beijing Cries Foul Over Chinese Scientist's Death Following Alleged US Interrogation - Feds Tight-Lipped

China is accusing U.S. federal authorities of "hostile questioning" by US law enforcement following the death of a groundbreaking Chinese semiconductor researcher who fell to his death inside a University of Michigan building last month, while American law enforcement and university officials remain tight-lipped about any federal involvement.

Danhao Wang, an assistant research scientist in the University of Michigan’s College of Engineering, died after falling from an upper level inside the George G. Brown Building on the Ann Arbor campus around 11 p.m. on March 19. University police responded to the scene and pronounced him dead. The incident is being investigated as a possible act of self-harm, with no indication of foul play or any ongoing threat to the campus community.

GG Brown Building Addition (Architect Magazine)

Chinese officials, including the embassy in Washington and the consulate in Chicago, have strongly linked Wang’s death to what they describe as “unwarranted” interrogation by U.S. law enforcement just before the incident. Beijing has lodged multiple “solemn representations,” accusing the U.S. of overstating national security concerns, engaging in political manipulation, and subjecting Chinese scholars to discriminatory practices that create a “chilling effect” on academic exchanges.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry and embassy spokespeople have publicly demanded a full investigation, a “responsible explanation” to Wang’s family, and an end to such alleged harassment. The embassy confirmed Wang died by suicide and has been assisting his family.

U.S. authorities have offered no confirmation or denial of any questioning. The FBI’s Detroit field office cited its longstanding policy of neither confirming nor denying investigations involving specific individuals. University police and administrators have released only basic details about the fall while the case remains active.

The University of Michigan, as we learned in June and November of last year, is full of China’s operatives. Danhao Wang could have been another one of them. https://t.co/Diw9HnUyiP

— Gordon G. Chang (@GordonGChang) April 7, 2026

Wang had worked in Prof. Zetian Mi’s lab since 2022, focusing on wide-bandgap III-nitride semiconductor materials and devices. His research centered on emerging wurtzite ferroelectric nitrides — advanced materials with unique polarization properties that could revolutionize electronics.

Groundbreaking Research

Wang’s most significant contribution was as co-first author on a landmark 2025 paper in Nature titled “Electric-field-induced domain walls in wurtzite ferroelectrics.” The work solved a long-standing puzzle: why these ferroelectric nitrides remain stable despite extreme polarization discontinuities that should theoretically tear the crystal apart.

Using transmission electron microscopy and density functional theory, the team discovered that when an electric field reverses polarization, “domain walls” form at the interfaces. These walls feature a unique buckled hexagonal atomic arrangement - never observed before - where dangling bonds with negatively charged electrons precisely compensate the positive charge buildup, stabilizing the material.

Critically, these domain walls also create highly conductive pathways - roughly 100 times more charge carriers than in standard gallium nitride transistors. The conductivity is electrically tunable: it can be turned on/off, moved, or adjusted in strength using the same field that controls polarization.

The breakthrough has sweeping implications for the semiconductor industry:

• Ultra-low-power computing and AI: Ferroelectric field-effect transistors (FeFETs) could integrate non-volatile memory and logic in the same material, slashing energy use in AI chips, edge devices, and data centers.
• High-power and high-frequency electronics: Domain-wall transistors promise superior performance in RF devices, power amplifiers, and next-generation power electronics.
• Neuromorphic and memory tech: The materials support brain-like synaptic behavior and energy-efficient non-volatile memory.
• Broader applications: Sensors, MEMS devices, quantum photonics, and hybrid optoelectronic systems all stand to benefit from the tunable ferroelectric properties.

University of Michigan Engineering Dean Karen Thole called Wang “a promising and brilliant young mind” whose work represented a landmark advance in uncovering the switching and charge compensation mechanisms of these emerging nitrides.

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/09/2026 - 16:40

The Economic Destruction Of Trump's War Goes Far Beyond High Gas Prices

Authored by Connor O'Keeffe via the Mises Institute,

For the past six weeks, as this US-Israeli war with Iran has played out, the economic impact of the conflict has gotten a lot of attention. And rightfully so.

As anyone who’s consumed any news about this war knows well by now, the Strait of Hormuz is a major energy chokepoint, the Iranian government did exactly what they said they were going to do if Trump and Netanyahu ordered this attack and started blocking ships tied in any way to the government’s attacking them from passing through the Strait, and the US, Israeli, or really any other government have not been able to do anything about it.

However, throughout all of this, most of the discourse about the economic impacts of the war has focused on the rising prices drivers are facing at the gas pump. That isn’t surprising, as gas prices are an early cost that impact consumers directly.

But the emphasis on pain at the pump threatens to badly understate the economic damage of this war. And it helps feed the false impression that, if this new attempt at a ceasefire holds and the war ends somewhat quickly, gas prices will fall back down as fast as they rose, and then all the global economic turmoil the world’s been worrying about will be avoided.

It won’t. A lot of economic pain has already been locked in by this war. But to really understand it, it’s necessary to keep a few important economic truths at the front of our minds.

First is the fact that the entire purpose of the economy is to produce goods and services that consumers value enough to pay for. All of the production happening anywhere in the economy is geared towards that end.

That’s relatively straightforward with the production of consumer goods. A commercial brewer, for example, chooses to produce specific beers because they think consumers will value those beers enough to pay more money than the brewer spent producing them, making it a profitable production.

But it’s also true for all the production that is not directly tied to a finished consumer good—which is, in fact, most of the production happening in the economy. Businesses produce capital goods like industrial stainless-steel mixing tanks, rubber tractor tires, plastic packaging, or the ingredients of fertilizer because there’s demand for those goods from other businesses that produce later-stage goods and, ultimately, consumer goods.

So, returning to the brewing example, all the production that results in that finished bottle of beer doesn’t begin with the brewer. It requires grain that is planted, grown, harvested, and transported to the brewery. It also requires fermenters, Brite tanks, mash tuns, and canning or bottling systems—all of which need to be produced with other capital goods like stainless steel, which itself requires other capital goods like iron ore.

Every consumer good can be viewed as the end of a long chain of production stretching all the way back to the cultivation of raw materials like iron or timber, or the creation of basic components like resins or plastics. Economists call those basic capital goods at the beginning of the chain higher order goods.

And what’s important to remember about higher order goods is that, first, almost all of them are used in many different lines of production. Iron ore is not exclusively used to help eventually produce beer, it’s used to make a lot of goods that are themselves used to make a lot of other goods. It’s what’s called a non-specific factor of production. Any change in the production of iron ore has widespread consequences across the economy. 

And second, production takes time. That’s true for the production of any given good, but it’s especially true if we look across that entire chain of production. The higher order goods that are currently being produced won’t help bring about finished consumer products until months or even years down the road.

All of this is important to understand and keep in mind because the war with Iran is, so far, primarily impacting the production of higher order goods. And it goes far beyond oil.

About 8 percent of the world’s aluminum travels through the Strait. And aluminum is used across many sectors, including construction, manufacturing, and technology. Nearly a third of the world’s helium supply comes from Qatar, which is an important component in semiconductor production as well as MRI systems.

Polyethylene and other kinds of plastics and resins are also greatly affected. More than 40 percent of the world’s polyethylene is exported from the Middle East. And these are used in all stages of production in all sorts of industries—packaging, auto parts, medical equipment, consumer containers, industrial components, electronics, and much, much more.

And there are other often-neglected but extremely important hydrocarbon products being held up, such as petroleum naphtha, which is critical for refining gasoline and producing solvents for cleaning agents and paints. Natural gas condensate is another liquid hydrocarbon used in refining and to dilute other denser hydrocarbons to make them easier to transport. There’s also liquified petroleum gas, or LPG, which is mostly composed of propane and butane. These components are also important for refining as well as residential cooking and heating in many parts of the world. Much of the world’s supply of all these products is produced in the Middle East and exported through the Strait of Hormuz.

Another often-neglected yet critical higher-order good is sulfur. About half the world’s seaborne sulfur trade moves through the Strait. It’s important for refining petroleum and minerals like copper, nickel, and zinc, which are widely used in everything from electronics to medicine.

But the other major use of sulfur is as an ingredient in fertilizer. The sulfur supply shock—along with adjacent shocks in the supply of ammonia and urea, other key fertilizer components primarily exported through the Strait of Hormuz—has created a time bomb in global food markets.

Which brings us to another economic concept that is extremely important to understand if we want to fully comprehend the situation we’re now in. The problem is not merely a rise in prices but, specifically, the destruction of supply. The strikes on production facilities and the severing of supply lines mean there is now not enough supply of the components I laid out above available to meet current levels of demand. And because, again, these higher order goods are demanded for the production of lower order and consumer goods, that means, eventually, fewer consumer goods. The rising prices are a symptom of the fact that there is now less stuff available for everyone who wants it than there was before.

The fertilizer shortage provides a good example. The fact that producers cannot get their hands on the supply of ingredients like sulfuric acid, ammonia, and urea they need to meet demand means they are forced to produce less fertilizer than their customers need. Which, in turn, means those customers—industrial and family farmers—have less fertilizer to use during this year’s spring planting season. Which means they produce fewer crops. This leads to less animal feed for livestock and produce overall, resulting in an unavoidable drop in the food supply.

Those of us who are fortunate enough to live in developed countries above the poverty line will primarily experience the shortage as higher food prices. But for the millions of people who are already struggling to secure the food they need, this drop in supply may force them to go without.

That is not a choice forced on all of us by some greedy companies, it is an unavoidable consequence of the economic destruction brought about by this war.

And that same basic process is at play with all the other commodities and higher order goods I mentioned, as can be seen in the dramatic price increases. Aluminum prices have already surged by 10 percent. Import prices for helium have jumped 50 percent. Polyethylene prices are up 37 percent. Polypropylene is up 38 percent. And the price of petroleum naphtha has tripled since February.

Remember, these price increases are not the whole story. They are the symptom of supply shortages that will work their way through all relevant lines of production and result in fewer consumer goods down the road—all from production disruption that will be slow to start back up again, even when the war is fully over.

That means fewer containers available for goods like nail polish and, yes, beer. It means fewer medical supplies, like IV bags, syringes, and sterile packaging, all of which rely on petrochemical plastics. Also, delays in construction projects as it becomes harder to source asphalt, plastics, and aluminum inputs. And dangerous health issues going undetected because of limited MRI machine availability, and much more.

And that’s not to mention, of course, the oil and LNG shortages that people are already sufficiently focused on. These commodities power nearly all stages of all lines of production and help produce the diesel and jet fuel used to physically move everything in the economy to where it needs to be.

Unlike gas prices, these effects will take some time to develop—especially in the US, where our supply chain is momentarily protected from the initial impacts. And they won’t be as clearly tied to the war in the minds of most people. But the costs of all this economic destruction are real, they are substantial, and they are already locked in.

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/09/2026 - 16:20

No Storybook Ending: Disney Plans Another Round Of Layoffs

Disney turned a new chapter earlier this year when Josh D'Amaro took over the century-old entertainment giant from Bob Iger as chief executive. But the closely watched succession has occurred against the troubling backdrop of recent reorganization and a questionable turnaround effort, leaving Wall Street analysts with mixed feelings.

The Wall Street Journal reports that D'Amaro is set to continue the layoffs that started under Iger's watch, with a new round of approximately 1,000 workers that could be announced in the near term.

For those employees, there is no happy storybook ending to Disney's next round of layoffs, which will impact the recently consolidated marketing department.

Iger, who returned to save the sinking Disney ship in 2022, launched major restructuring efforts that included the elimination of more than 8,000 jobs. Most of the cuts centered on entertainment, ESPN, and corporate units, while parks and cruise operations have largely remained untouched and continued to expand.

The report continued:

Disney has been consolidating long-siloed operations to cut costs and coordinate its efforts across divisions, particularly online. The company combined marketing for entertainment, experiences and sports under a single chief marketing officer, Asad Ayaz, for the first time, in January. Ayaz's plan to unite the marketing group and reduce expenses is code-named Project Imagine, according to people familiar with the matter.

Disney is also combining the staff of its Disney+ and Hulu streaming services as it goes about merging both brands into one app. The company has been working with consultants from Bain & Co. to strategize its cost-cutting.

The decision to reduce headcount reflects broader pressure across Hollywood (death of Hollywood in charts), where traditional TV profits have softened, box-office returns remain muted, and streaming has become increasingly unprofitable. Disney is also trying to free up capital for faster-growing digital businesses.

The latest Bloomberg data shows Disney's overall workforce consists of 231,000 full- and part-time employees.

Reshaping Disney to appease shareholders comes as the stock is down nearly 13% for the year (as of Wednesday's closing). Shares trade at Covid lows and have been locked in a trough since mid-2022.

"This transition comes at a moment when the world is changing faster than ever. While that can feel daunting at times, it is also exciting," D'Amaro said earlier this year in a statement.

Perhaps cutting all woke propaganda sneaked into entertainment under Disney brands to indoctrinate children would also be a start toward regaining the trust of households that have gravitated to other studios for media consumption. 

Whether D'Amaro can stabilize Disney remains an open question.

* * *

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/09/2026 - 15:40

Texas Pacific Land Crashes After Largest Shareholder Dies

Land-and-royalty company Texas Pacific Land Corp. crashed the most since early Covid after the head of its largest shareholder unexpectedly died. 

Bloomberg reports that Murray Stahl, CEO of Horizon Kinetics and a TPL board member, died on Thursday, sending shares spiraling lower by 17% in late-afternoon trading.

This marked the largest intraday decline in the stock since early 2020.

Stahl was described as a longtime believer in TPL, one of the largest private landowners in Texas, with most of its acreage concentrated in the oil-rich Permian Basin of West Texas.

TPL generates revenue by owning land, collecting oil and gas royalties from activity on that land, and selling or managing water-related services tied to drilling and production.

"His firm, Horizon Kinetics, along with its predecessors, had been TPL's largest shareholder for many decades. Murray believed in the Company when it was still a thinly-traded, little-known trust that simply owned some land in west Texas," TPL CEO Ty Glover wrote in a press release. 

Bloomberg data show that Horizon Kinetics is TPL's largest shareholder, owning 10.3 million shares, or about 14.99% of the tradable shares outstanding.

The cause of death was not immediately released by the family or TPL's CEO.

The plunge in TPL shares following the death of its largest shareholder likely reflects uncertainty about the company's future direction, as well as the possibility that Horizon could eventually reduce its stake. The volatility may also result from TPL's tight float and thin trading, which can amplify price swings when unexpected news hits.

* * *

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/09/2026 - 15:00

Minneapolis Pushes To Legalize Sex Bath-Houses For Gay Somali Immigrants

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

Minneapolis city leaders are barreling ahead with plans to legalize adult bathhouses and sex venues where consenting adults can engage in sexual activity, scrapping a 38-year ban enacted during the AIDS epidemic.

The push, driven by activists, comes as the gay Somali community in Minneapolis has been clamoring to legalize bathhouses. City leaders are considering the proposal that would allow patrons to engage in sexual intercourse in the venues, the New York Post reports.

This latest development underscores the deepening assimilation issues in a city long transformed by mass Somali immigration.

Minneapolis may legalize adult bathhouses - allowing adults to engage in sexual activity https://t.co/OTnhxHth3q pic.twitter.com/Lt0nGeLKZP

— New York Post (@nypost) April 8, 2026

The Minneapolis City Council has referred a package of four proposed ordinances to staff for further development. These include creating licensing and business regulations for adult sex venues that facilitate sexual activity between consenting adults, updating zoning codes for sexually oriented businesses, revising health and sanitation standards related to contagious diseases, and adding exceptions to miscellaneous offenses provisions.

Activists from the Safer Sex Spaces Coalition have led the charge. They argue the 1988 ban, which targeted “high-risk sexual conduct” such as fellatio, anal intercourse, and vaginal intercourse in commercial settings, is outdated and stigmatizing.

“The Minneapolis Health Department and other public health organizations acknowledge this ordinance is no longer the tool needed to promote public health, “the coalition stated adding “Social science research tells us that commercial sex spaces, like gay saunas, are important for promoting safer sex practices, enhancing HIV prevention, and increasing access to testing and treatment. These spaces also enhance feelings of identity, camaraderie, authenticity, and belonging. They are spaces where people overcome isolation and develop a sense of community and pride.”

Creating a monkeypox epidemic wouldn’t be my first choice to distract attention from Minneapolis’s rampant fraud problem, but it just might work. pic.twitter.com/IbtZIKqjAK

— Thousands of Tiny Tyrants (@Tiny_Tyrants) April 8, 2026

Council Member Jason Chavez supported referring the measures, saying: “LGBTQIA+ gathering spaces, including bathhouses, have long been targeted by criminalization and policing, and our communities have paid a devastating price for that. That’s why we’re referring this to staff to begin building policy alongside community members and stakeholders.”

Council President Elliott Payne noted that such activities “already happen in the shadows, and we are trying to ensure that they are safe for patrons, especially when LGBTQ+ individuals are under attack by the federal government.” He pointed to potential regulations modeled on San Francisco, including condom availability and staff training on harm reduction.

A spokesperson for Mayor Jacob Frey indicated the mayor supports continued exploration of the issue.

Hardly surprising given that all he does is pander to Somalis.

The original 1988 ban drew backing even from within the LGBTQ+ community at the time, including the city’s first openly gay council member, Brian Coyle, who backed the measure before his death from AIDS-related complications in 1991. Activists now claim the rules disproportionately harmed same-sex partnerships and people with HIV/AIDS while driving gatherings into unsafe private spaces.

Recent coverage confirms the council delayed full debate on the ordinances this week but remains committed to directing staff research.

Tim Walz entering the bathhouse pic.twitter.com/AlMnwP8PHK

— GoshuAAAA (@Skipper1913) April 8, 2026

Critics view the effort as emblematic of misplaced priorities. While neighborhoods struggle with the social and economic fallout of rapid demographic change—including documented fraud schemes and parallel economies—the focus shifts to licensing orgy venues and updating “stigmatizing language” in city code.

Minneapolis—often called “Little Mogadishu”—has faced repeated exposure for hundreds of millions in Somali cash smuggling operations routed through Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, in addition to an explosion of Somali related fraud scandals.

TSA whistleblowers who highlighted these schemes faced pushback, including accusations of racism and Islamophobia from figures tied to the Walz administration aimed at silencing concerns over Somali fraud.

Legalizing commercial sex spaces in a city already wrestling with smuggling networks and identity politics does not signal enlightened governance. It signals a leadership class more attuned to activist coalitions than to restoring order and cohesion.

Voters across the heartland have grown weary of cities that import unassimilated populations and then contort public policy around every resulting demand.

Minneapolis offers a cautionary tale of where such approaches lead—public health debates recycled from the 1980s, now layered atop deeper failures in border security and cultural integration.

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/09/2026 - 14:40

The post February Data on Consumption and Prices: The Story Is Not Good appeared first on CEPR.

DOJ Opens Criminal Investigation Into J6 Committee Star Witness Cassidy Hutchinson

Authored by Debra Heine via American Greatness,

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has opened a criminal investigation into Cassidy Hutchinson, the former White House staffer who made a number of false claims about President Donald Trump before the January 6 Committee in June 2022.

The probe, led by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division under Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, began in early April 2026 after a criminal referral from Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.).

In December 2024, the House Administration’s Oversight Subcommittee, which is chaired by Loudermilk, released a 128-page interim report concluding that the J6 star witness had lied under oath and that the Select Committee knew her outrageous claims were false when they publicly promoted her.

In a December 17, 2024  press release,  Loudermilk referred former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wy.) to the Department of Justice for an investigation into “potential criminal witness tampering based on the new information about her communication.”

Loudermilk accused Cheney of colluding with then-media darling Hutchinson without her attorney’s knowledge.

Hutchinson had testified that President Trump was aware that his supporters had weapons on the morning of January 6 but didn’t care because they weren’t there to hurt him.

She also falsely claimed that Trump tried to seize the wheel of the presidential limo and lunged at his former security detail when the Secret Service would not drive him to join protesters at the Capitol.

Loudermilk’s report concluded:

• President Trump did not attack his Secret Service Detail at any time on January 6.

• President Trump did not have intelligence indicating violence on the morning of January 6.

• Cassidy Hutchinson falsely claimed to have drafted a handwritten note for President Trump on January 6.

• Representative Cheney and Cassidy Hutchinson baselessly attempted to disbar Hutchinson’s former attorney.

Loudermilk’s report accused Cheney of “using the January 6 Select Committee as a tool to attack President Trump, at the cost of investigative integrity and Capitol security.”

As of now, the Justice Department has not announced any investigation into Cheney, and the report’s recommendations remain unacted upon by federal prosecutors.

Hutchinson’s  allegations were so flimsy even anti-Trump Special Counsel Jack Smith didn’t believe her and refused to use her as a witness in his prosecution of Trump.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation will focus on whether she committed perjury during her “bombshell” televised testimony, particularly regarding claims that Trump encouraged violence on January 6 and attempted to seize the presidential limo’s steering wheel.

The assignment of the case to the Civil Rights Division is considered highly unusual, as perjury cases are typically handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., which is run by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.

The investigation will examine claims from other witnesses and internal testimony that contradict Hutchinson’s account, particularly the Secret Service’s denial of the limo incident.

During a news conference Tuesday, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that Trump has the “right” and “duty” to call for investigations into individuals he deems suspicious, including his former staffer turned anti-Trump fabulist.

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Tyler Durden Thu, 04/09/2026 - 14:00

Mediocre 30Y Auction Has First Tail Since November

After a solid 3Y auction and a tepid 10Y auction earlier this week, moments ago the Treasury concluded the final coupon auction of the week, when it sold $22 billion in a 30 year reopening in what was another average auction.

The sale stopped at a high yield of 4.876%, virtually unchanged from 4.871% a month ago and the highest since last July. It also tailed the When Issued 4.871% by 0.5bps, the first tail since November.

The bid to cover was 2.385, down from 2.452 in March and the lowest since December '25. 

The internals were in line: Indirects were awarded 64.14%, up from 63.4% in March but below the six-auction average of 66.8%. And with Directs down to 24.23% from 27.23% (above the recent average of 22.9%), dealers were left holding 11.6%, the most since January.

Overall, this was a mediocre 30Y auction, with average stats resulting in the first tail for the tenor since last November, yet with markets still only focused on Iran there was virtually no little market reaction.

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/09/2026 - 13:27

Trump 'Optimistic' An Iran Deal Within Reach, After First Non-Iranian Tanker Transits Hormuz Since Ceasefire Summary: 

• Bibi says pursuing Lebanon ceasefire after reports of Trump pressure. Over 250 killed and 1,000+ wounded in Lebanon from Wednesday surprise attack by Israel's military. UAE, Pakistan, and even EU (Kallas) condemn.

• Trump 'optimistic' a deal within reach (NBC). WH confirms Vice President Vance will lead Kushner-Witkoff delegation in Pakistan, seen as positive in Tehran and Islamabad.

• Trump warns of more military action if Iran doesn't uphold 'real' ceasefire deal, after disagreement over Lebanon truce status as part of deal.

• Despite some last-minute shots in Lebanon by Israel, bombs go largely silent across Gulf and Middle East.

• Hormuz Strait still effectively controlled by Iran: only a few vessels had passed on Wednesday. TASS reporting only 15 'vetted' tankers per day to be let through. Thursday sees first non-Iranian tanker pass since ceasefire.

//--> //--> Trump announces end of military operations against Iran by April 15th?
Yes 9% · No 92%
View full market & trade on Polymarket

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Trump 'Optimistic' Iran Deal Within Reach, After 1st Non-Iranian Tanker Transits Hormuz Since Ceasefire

AFP has cited MarineTraffic monitor to report that the first non-Iranian tanker has transited the Strait of Hormuz since the ceasefire began.

Also per NBC, Trump says he is optimistic that an Iran peace deal is within reach, as Vance is set to head up the American side for Pakistan talks, scheduled for Saturday monring.

This marks the most direct signal yet from the US President himself that negotiations could have real momentum. He also told NBC that Tehran is "more agreeable than it shows in public." However, despite these 'positives' - the case of Israel-Lebanon fighting could derail a lasting peace:

Hezbollah MP says group rejects any direct talks between Lebanon, Israel

Bibi: We are Opening Direct Negotiations With Lebanon

Huge development per Axios:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: In light of Lebanon's repeated calls to open direct negotiations with Israel, I instructed the Cabinet yesterday to open direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible. The negotiations will focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon. Israel appreciates the Lebanese Prime Minister's call today to evacuate Beirut

This after NBC News just reported that President Trump has requested that Israel reduce its bombing of Lebanon. There are some caveats: a senior Israeli official has said the negotiations will begin in the "coming days" and is not yet happening. Also, per Newsquawk (and via "Now 14"), the negotiations will take place "under fire" - meaning there could be continued strikes unleashed on Lebanon.

Oil dumps and stocks spike on the news...

15 'Vetted' Vessels Per Day To Be Allowed Through Hormuz: TASS

The Associated Press has emphasized Thursday, "Iran's approval system for ships granted safe passage - after vetting by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps - remains unchanged despite US President Donald Trump’s demand for the strait to be reopened."

"Last week was the busiest week since the start of the war with 72 passages, still 90% below normal volumes, Lloyd’s said," the AP report continues. "Most of the vessels allowed through are connected to Iran, although some Indian vessels have gotten through with diplomatic intervention by the Indian government." There are currently few indicators revealing Iran's intent for what comes next, and it could be that much gets determined on whether Israel will cease its attacks on Lebanon. Tehran has threatened to renew its ballistic missile attacks of Israel's anti-Hezbollah actions and massive airstrikes on Beirut persist.

Russia, which is an ally of Iran, has in its media published Iranian sources saying that Iran will allow no more than 15 vessels per day through Hormuz. As for Iran's protocol for allowing passage, which reportedly could include up to a $2 million fee per vessel payable in cryptocurrency, Lloyd's list outlines the following on where things stand:

• Vessels transiting the chokepoint must coordinate with the IRGC Navy
• Iran's latest guidance explicitly warns of anti-ship mines in the main traffic zone of the strait
• IRGC Navy continues to vet all traffic passing through the strait on the basis of geopolitical affiliation

Optimism: Bombs Largely Go Quiet

Asia One journalist Anas Mallick writes that "To my understanding, By tomorrow, first break of light, is when both delegations of US and Iran will be in Islamabad to hold talks."

There's some optimism regarding the US-Iran ceasefire holding, as it's been relatively quiet in the Middle East overnight into Thursday, despite Israel getting some final shots on Lebanon in. On this, Iran's president has made clear Tehran's position that Israel's renewed incursion into Lebanon and against Hezbollah violates the ceasefire, warning that these actions could make talks moot before they even begin.

Reuters observes, "Even as the U.S. and Iran seek to cement a ceasefire, Israel is seizing more territory from its neighbors in preparation for a long, drawn-out conflict across the Middle East. Israel's creation of 'buffer zones' in Gaza, Syria and now Lebanon reflects a strategic shift after the attacks of October 7, 2023, one that puts the country in a semi-permanent state of war."

Still, Gulf countries like the UAE have stated that no air threats have been detected or are inbound in the past hours, which is a rare positive development. There has been a decline in Iranian attacks across Arab states in the Persian Gulf region. Also, Israeli society has begun to return to normalcy, with emergency and shelter in place measures lifted across most parts of the country, and Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv having resumed operations as of midnight.

The reality of who actually controls the Hormuz Strait, told in one awkward WH press exchange:

Q: As of today, who controls the Strait of Hormuz?

LEAVITT: We expect that the strait will be opened immediately

Q: Who controls the strait right now?

LEAVITT: *refuses to answer* pic.twitter.com/eqDzxLTRAP

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 8, 2026

Over 250 Killed In Lebanon on Single Day

But the reality remains that on Wednesday - the first day of the fragile ceasefire - a mere few tankers were allowed passage through the Strait of Hormuz before Iran shut down traffic again, citing the heavy Israeli attacks on Lebanon, which were the largest and deadliest of the war to date.

Sky News reports that at least 254 people were killed by the Israeli strikes across Lebanon on Wednesday, citing government health authorities. In Beirut alone, at least 91 people were killed, amid ongoing rescue efforts and treatment of the wounded in area hospitals. Over 1,000 Lebanese were wounded and injured. The Lebanese government has declared a day of mourning.

Trump To Renew Attacks if Tehran Fails in 'Real' Ceasefire Deal, Oil Rises

Meanwhile President Trump in a Truth Social message issued overnight says that "all US ships, aircraft, and military personnel" will remain in place around Iran until the "real agreement" on a ceasefire "is fully complied with" - warning of more US military action to come if not.

The renewed threats have pushed WTI back above $100...

Here's president Trump's full Truth Social statement wherein he warns that the shooting can start again "bigger, better, and stronger than anyone has ever seen before":

Iran's leadership has meanwhile been insistent on Lebanon being part of the Iran ceasefire, and has on this basis accused Washington of already violating at least three clauses of the ten point plan. It too has serious cards to play - especially while still de facto controlling Hormuz, and with the ability to renew attacks on energy sites in Gulf states.

pic.twitter.com/itR0mAo03m

— محمدباقر قالیباف | MB Ghalibaf (@mb_ghalibaf) April 9, 2026

Iran on Lebanon Violations: 'Choose War or Ceasefire, You Can't Have Both'

Iran's deputy foreign minister Saeed Khatibzadeh has told CBS News Israel's attacks on Lebanon Wednesday were "a grave violation" of the ceasefire agreement, and emphasized the US must choose "between war and ceasefire - you cannot have it both at the same time."

"You cannot ask for a ceasefire and then accept terms and conditions, accept areas the ceasefire is applied to, and name Lebanon, exactly Lebanon in that, and then your ally just start a massacre," Khatibzadeh said. 

Netanyahu's message has remained that Israel can strike Hezbollah whenever and "wherever" it chooses. "In Beirut, we eliminated Ali Youssef Kharshi, the personal secretary of Hezbollah terror organization Secretary-General Naim Qassem and one of the people closest to him. At the same time, overnight, the IDF struck a series of terror infrastructures in southern Lebanon: crossings used to transfer thousands of weapons, rockets, and launchers, as well as weapons depots, launchers, and Hezbollah headquarters," Netanyahu said.

⚡️ The Israeli airstrike on Al-Basta, Lebanon pic.twitter.com/Zh1YNF529S

— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) April 8, 2026

"Our message is clear: Whoever acts against Israeli civilians will be struck. We will continue to strike Hezbollah wherever required, until we restore full security to the residents of the north."

Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Saar: "In the last 40 days, Hezbollah has fired approximately 6,500 missiles, rockets, and drones at Israel."

Pakistan Welcomes Vance Heading up US Delegation

WH Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made clear Wednesday that Vice President JD Vance will head up talks for the US side in Pakistan, leading Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff. Tehran had previously expressed its disdain for the latter two, accusing them of lying and being deceptive the first go-round before Iran suffered surprise US-Israeli attack. The pair are also accused of lacking technical know-how when it comes to talking about the nuclear issue.

Al Jazeera also freshly reports that the choice of Vance heading the US delegation is "being viewed very positively in Pakistan." Pakistan’s former Ambassador to the UN Maleeha Lodhi says, "Politicians know the art of the possible, and therefore I think it’s a good decision by the Trump administration to have Vance lead the talks."

Vance has stressed that Trump is "impatient to make progress" with Iran and warned that if Iranian officials don't engage in good faith "they're going to find out that President Trump is not one to mess around with." The US has clamed Iran 'begged' for ceasefire while Tehran insists it was the other way around.

More Geopolitical Headlines

via Newsquawk...

• US President Donald Trump posted: "All U.S. Ships, Aircraft, and Military Personnel....will remain in place in, and around, Iran, until such time as the REAL AGREEMENT reached is fully complied with".
• US President Donald Trump posted: "NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN. REMEMBER GREENLAND, THAT BIG, POORLY RUN, PIECE OF ICE!!!".
• The Trump administration is considering a plan to penalize NATO members viewed as unhelpful during the Iran war by relocating US troops to more supportive countries, with potential base closures in Europe, including in Spain or Germany, according to WSJ.
• NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told President Trump that most European nations provided support.
• US officials stated they do not rule out resuming fighting in Iran and confirmed Trump will not offer major concessions to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, warning Iran’s demands could trigger renewed conflict.
• Iran’s deputy foreign minister stated that the speaker of parliament will lead Iran’s delegation in upcoming talks, with communication continuing through Pakistan, according to Al Jazeera.
• Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan stated the delegation will arrive in Islamabad on Thursday night for “serious talks” based on Iran’s 10-point proposal.
• The IRGC Navy announced alternative shipping routes to bypass potential sea mines, according to ISNA.
• The IRGC stated that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz slowed sharply and then stopped following what it described as an Israeli ceasefire violation in Lebanon, according to CNN.
• Iranian lawmaker Ibrahim Azizi stated: "Once again, you have proven that you do not know the meaning of a ceasefire" and "Only fire will discipline you...so wait for it".
• Saudi Arabia and Iran discussed de-escalation during a call, according to SPA.
• A Pakistani Foreign Ministry source indicated the US has backed away from including Lebanon in the ceasefire with Iran, according to Al Arabiya.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated Israel will continue striking Hezbollah, with the IDF targeting infrastructure in southern Lebanon overnight.
• Israel’s Ministry of Energy ordered the resumption of operations at the Karish gas platform after a shutdown during the war, according to Channel 12.
• Hezbollah stated its attacks on Israel will continue until aggression stops and launched rockets citing ceasefire violations, according to Fars News Agency.
• A missile was fired from Lebanon into northern Israel, according to Fars News Agency.
• Israeli strikes in Lebanon continued despite the ceasefire with Iran, according to Anadolu Agency.
• French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian and US President Donald Trump, stating their decision to accept the ceasefire was the best course of action.
• Russia launched 119 drones at Ukraine overnight, according to Ukrainian media.

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Tyler Durden Thu, 04/09/2026 - 13:20