- Wednesday April 22nd, 2026
- "It Is Not A Question of Who Is Right Or Wrong But What Is Right Or Wrong That Counts."
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- Providing an on line Triage of the news since 1998
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World & Nation
Iran fires on 2 ships in Strait of Hormuz after Trump extends ceasefire
Iran has taken custody of two ships after opening fire in Strait of Hormuz, Iranian media says
Iranian state media reports that Iranian forces have taken custody of
two trade vessels in the Strait of Hormuz after opening fire on the
ships Wednesday.
Reports say the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps have taken custody
over the Panama-flagged MSC Francesca and Liberia-flagged Epaminondas
and are bringing them to Iran.
Reports said Iran fired on a third vessel in the strait as well, but did not take it into custody.
International ship tracking from Marine Traffic shows both vessels stationary off the coast of Iran in the strait.
Iran Fires on Three Container Ships in Strait of Hormuz
Treasury Escalates Iran Pressure Even as Trump Extends Ceasefire
The U.S. Treasury Department is escalating sanctions enforcement
against Iran even as President Donald Trump has authorized an extension
of a fragile ceasefire that was set to expire, according to a Newsmax
report and a Truth Social post attributed to the president.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the department is intensifying
what officials describe as a "maximum pressure" campaign — internally
referred to as "Economic Fury" — aimed at constraining Iran's ability
to generate, move, and repatriate revenue through oil exports and
global financial networks.
Officials said the effort is focused on disrupting Tehran's maritime
trade routes, which Washington considers a primary source of regime
funding, and warned that vessels, companies, or intermediaries involved
in sanctions evasion could face designation, asset freezes, and broader
financial restrictions.
Reactions pour in to Virginia approving gerrymandered districts favoring Democrats
Virginia narrowly passed a special ballot resolution to quickly redraw
its voting district maps to turn a 6-5 Republican U.S. House delegation
into a potential 10-1 Democrat edge in the upcoming midterm elections
this November. Republicans say there is a constitutional challenge to
the timing and structure of the ballot question that passed, vowing to
appeal.
Obama blasted for praising Virginia gerrymander as boost for ‘democracy’
Social media was not having any of former President Barack Obama's political posturing.
Obama is getting blasted Wednesday after celebrating Virginia voters’
approval of a redistricting measure that could heavily benefit
Democrats in the state’s House delegation.
Va. OKs Congressional Map Change Seen as GOP Setback
Virginia voters on Tuesday approved a constitutional amendment allowing
the Democrat-controlled General Assembly to redraw the state's
congressional map, a move Republicans warn could cement a lopsided
partisan advantage in the House.
Newsmax called the race about 90 minutes after polls closed at 7 p.m.
ET. Even though opposition to the measure was leading by about 36,000
votes when the race was called, most of the remaining votes were still
in Democrat-leaning areas, including Fairfax County and Richmond.
The measure temporarily suspends Virginia's bipartisan redistricting
system and gives lawmakers authority to adopt new congressional
districts through 2030.
Warsh: Trump Has Not Pressured Me to Cut Rates
President Donald Trump's nominee to chair the Federal Reserve said
Tuesday that he never promised the White House that he would cut
interest rates, even as the president renewed his calls for the central
bank to do so.
"The president never once asked me to commit to any particular interest
rate decision, and nor would I agree to it if he had," Kevin Warsh said
under questioning by the Senate Banking Committee. "I will be an
independent actor if confirmed as chair of the Federal Reserve."
Warsh's comments came just hours after Trump, in an interview on CNBC,
was asked if he would be disappointed if Warsh doesn't immediately cut
rates, and said, "I would."
Southern Poverty Law Center Indicted on Federal Fraud Charges
A federal grand jury in Alabama indicted the Southern Poverty Law
Center on 11 counts Tuesday, charging the civil rights nonprofit with
defrauding donors through a concealed program that paid members of the
Ku Klux Klan and other extremist groups, Acting Attorney General Todd
Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel said.
The case represents the most significant federal prosecution ever brought against a leading civil rights organization.
The indictment, returned in the U.S. District Court for the Middle
District of Alabama, charges the Montgomery, Alabama-based organization
with six counts of wire fraud, four counts of making false statements
to a federally insured bank, and one count of conspiracy to commit
money laundering.
Ukraine Has Asked Turkey to Host Zelenskyy-Putin Meeting
Ukraine has asked Turkey to host a meeting between President Volodymyr
Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, its top diplomat said,
as Kyiv seeks to reinvigorate stalling peace talks.
"We asked the Turks about it, we asked some other capitals," Foreign
Minister Andrii Sybiha said in comments to reporters on Tuesday that
were cleared for release on Wednesday.
He added that Ukraine would be ready to consider any place other than
Belarus or Russia for a meeting with Putin, which Zelenskyy has long
sought to try to hasten a resolution of the more than four-year war.
Democrat Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick of Fla. Resigns Amid Ethics Probe
Democrat Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida resigned on Tuesday
before the House could sanction her in an ethics investigation.
Members of the House Ethics Committee on Tuesday were set to weigh what
punishment to recommend after they found she committed 25 violations of
House rules and ethical standards, including breaking campaign finance
laws.
“This was not a fair process,” she said in a statement.
Republicans had already called for the expulsion of
Cherfilus-McCormick, who is in her third term and is running for
reelection in a southeastern Florida district.
Ilhan
Omar explodes at reporter for asking about multimillion-dollar
disclosure discrepancy: ‘You’re stupid for asking me anything’
Far-left Rep. Ilhan Omar blew up on a reporter this week for asking
questions about accounting “discrepancies” the Democrat blamed for
overstating her net worth by millions of dollars on financial
disclosure forms.
In May of last year, Omar (D-Minn.) claimed she and her husband, Tim
Mynett, held assets worth between $6 million and $30 million. However,
an amended filing reported by the Wall Street Journal last week put the
couple’s wealth at between $18,004 and $95,000.
The lawmaker claimed the initial filing was riddled with accounting errors.
“Congresswoman Omar, the last time I spoke to you, you said I was
stupid for asking about your financial disclosure, but there’s some
discrepancies on there. Would you like to explain that? How did you
make such a big mistake?” a Lindell TV reporter asked Omar Tuesday.
“I think you’re stupid for asking me anything,” snapped the visibly annoyed Omar, a sarcastic smile plastered on her face.
Sen. Chris Murphy is cheering for America’s enemies as Dems spew lies about Trump, Israel
By Michael Goodwin
Just how low can the Dems go?
If Chris Murphy is any indication, it won’t be long until the entire party is in the gutter cheering for America’s enemies.
Murphy, a Connecticut senator making noises about running for president
in 2028, sounds as if he would be a better fit as Iran’s ayatollah.
“Awesome” was how he greeted a disputed report saying two dozen Iranian
ships had broken the American blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.
He later whined that he was misunderstood.
Trump’s Operation Epic Fury humiliated the experts and redrew the Middle East
From China's absence to stable energy
prices, the dire warnings about Trump's Operation Epic Fury have
largely failed to materialize
By Victoria Coates
When Operation Epic Fury began almost two months ago, Washington’s
class of self-proclaimed foreign policy experts began warning that it
would lead to several unintended and alarmingly negative secondary
consequences.
The general consensus seemed to be that, from President Donald Trump on
down, the administration was not doing the long-term planning to
prevent these bad outcomes, notably countries in the region shifting
away from the U.S. to China, a broadening war led by Iran’s proxies and
devastating spikes in energy prices. Even more shockingly, according to
these experts, the president had not consulted with NATO allies before
the action, depriving America of their critical support.
While Epic Fury is certainly not over and outcomes remain uncertain, we
now have enough perspective to determine whether these dire
prognostications have come to pass. The experts’ scorecard to date is
not good.
