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Trump: "Iran is having a very hard time figuring out who their leader is! They just don’t know! The infighting is between the 'Hardliners,' who have been losing BADLY on the battlefield, and the 'Moderates,' who are not very moderate at all (but gaining respect!), is CRAZY! We have total control over the Strait of Hormuz. No ship can enter or leave without the approval of the United States Navy. It is 'Sealed up Tight,' until such time as Iran is able to make a DEAL!!! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP"

Trump: "Iran is having a very hard time figuring out who their leader is! They just don’t know! ... We have total control over the Strait of Hormuz. No ship can enter or leave without the approval of the United States Navy. It is 'Sealed up Tight,' until such time as Iran is able to make a DEAL!!!"

If that’s true, then let’s see the U.S. sail right on in.

Eliot Jacobson: The annual average maximum global surface temperature in the pre-industrial period 1850-1900 was 15.50°C. The graph below shows the first day of the year when the global temp hit 15.50°C, 1940 to 2025. 2026 has not yet reached this mark, but should in the next two weeks or so.

Deadlock over. The EU just cleared way for the €90-billion-loan for Ukraine and the 20th sanctions package.

Russia’s war economy is under growing strain, while Ukraine is getting a major boost.

We will provide Ukraine what it needs to hold its ground, until Putin understands his war leads nowhere.

Video aired on Iranian state TV in the early hours of April 23 purportedly showed armed soldiers boarding two container ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump Moves Up Forbes Billionaire Rankings Crypto cash and court rulings have combined to make America’s billionaire-in-chief much, much richer over the past year.

Trump now worth $6.5B (+$1.4B since taking office).
Don Jr. & Eric Trump each went from ~$40-50M to $300-400M range via crypto. Broader Trump family wealth has nearly doubled to as high as $10 billion. All of this wealth has been acquired leveraging the power and authority of the White House.

Ben Noll: The development of El Niño has progressed rapidly. Waters in the subsurface Pacific Ocean have now reached a gaudy 6˚C (11˚F) above average. This warmth is rising toward the ocean's surface and aligns with projections of a super El Niño later this year.

Korea-based THAAD system was not dispatched to Middle East, says USFK commander The U.S. military has not moved an advanced air defense system off the Korean Peninsula, the commander of U.S. forces there told a Senate committee.

In a Senate hearing this week, the commander of U.S. forces in South Korea refuted reports that the U.S. military was moving parts of an advanced air defense system off the Korean Peninsula to the Middle East.

From Stars and Stripes' Seth Robson and Yoojin Lee:

FBI investigating deaths and disappearances of staff at secretive government laboratories. Here's what we know. The disappearances and deaths of 10 government workers tied to nuclear or space technology have sparked speculation online. President Trump said the cases are "hopefully, coincidence."

Is a campaign against US weapons scientists underway or is this just a series of coincidences? One thing to keep in the back of your mind: for decades the US and Israel have jointly maintained a program aiming to kidnap or kill key Iranian weapons scientists. Might Iran not respond in kind?

Nothing to worry about, just the Heritage Foundation publishing an article on how the Republican Congress can refuse to seat Democrats www.heritage.org/election-int...

"Hegseth had Phelan review whether Kelly’s involvement in the video should merit any action by the Pentagon. Phelan provided his recommendation to Hegseth in mid-December, though the Navy did not disclose publicly what he advised."

John Phelan forced out as Navy secretary after 13 months The billionaire was a significant contributor to President Donald Trump’s campaign, but officials said he clashed repeatedly with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

"There also was tension between Hegseth and Phelan after Hegseth directed" Phelan "to determine whether Sen. Mark Kelly... should face repercussions for appearing in a video that advised service members of their duty not to follow illegal orders." www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

If you start to pay attention to this you'll realize how much we're socialized to associate 'mentally ill' with 'morally reprehensible' and how eager folks are to reach for mental health vocabulary to describe issues that are fundamentally moral.

Somehow there have been no applications for Hugh in the almost 5 months he’s been at the rescue. He is the perfect goofy orange guy who just wants love and pets. Someone please give him the home and endless belly rubs he deserves! (Located in northern MD)

Bodycam Footage Shows Arrest of Zach Witkoff Outside Nightclub Zach Witkoff, the son of U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff was arrested in the early morning hours on New Year's Day 2022.

Scott Stedman: Steve Witkoff's son Zach, who is a co-founder of the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial, was arrested after a New Year's Eve 2022 fight outside a Miami nightclub. When police searched his pockets, they found cocaine. Witkoff was charged and booked but never prosecuted.

Up to 56,000 people died from COVID-19 or RSV last year RSV was associated with 190,000 to 350,000 hospitalizations from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025, as well as 10,000 to 23,000 deaths, according to new CDC data.

RFK Jr: I terminated the COVID vaccines because it didn’t make any sense. COVID is gone.

Note: From July 2024 to June 2025 in the US, COVID19 caused up to 450,000 hospitalizations and 53,000 deaths.

COVID ain’t gone, shitbird.

Jay Bhattacharya, who is best known for ranting about COVID conspiracies and “coverups” for the past 5 years, is now literally suppressing the data on COVID vaccines…because he is an antivaccine hack not a scientist

Pete Hegseth Fires Navy Secretary John Phelan — The Wall Street Journal Hung Cao, currently undersecretary for the Navy, will take over on an acting basis

Hegseth kicks out another one. Amateur hour at the Pentagon.

Your Wednesday night when Russia is your neighbour

JFC absolute chaos

Old NAFO meme featuring Shiba Inu doge and the words “this didn’t happen so much it unhappened things that had”

Clearing Strait of Hormuz of mines could take 6 months, Pentagon tells Congress — The Washington Post The Pentagon assessment, shared in a classified briefing for lawmakers, suggests gasoline and oil prices could remain elevated through the midterm elections.

No cheap gas/petrol on the horizon.

Or food.

"Among the injured were seven ambulance workers responding to the leak, officials said."

Iran’s judiciary said on Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s claims that Iran had canceled the executions of eight women were based on false reports, adding that none of the women had been facing execution.

Also interesting, perhaps, that these carrier groups will be on either side of the Bab Al-Mandab…

news.usni.org/2026/04/20/u...

When lying is policy.

USDA and Palantir sign $300 million software purchase agreement The U.S. Department of Agriculture and software company Palantir Technologies ​on Wednesday announced the signing ‌of a $300 million Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA).

USDA and Palantir sign $300 million software purchase agreement reut.rs/3QtlTL2

@mb_ghalibaf • Translated from Persian by Grok A complete ceasefire only makes sense if it is not violated by the maritime blockade and the hostage-taking of the world's economy, and if the Zionist warmongering across all fronts is halted; reopening the Strait of Hormuz is impossible with such a flagrant breach of the ceasefire. They did not achieve their goals through military aggression, nor will they through bullying. The only way forward is to recognize the rights of the Iranian nation. Rate this translation: 11:39 AM • 4/22/26 • 70K Views

⚠️ Iran Speaker Ghalibaf says reopening the Strait of Hormuz is “impossible” as long as US blockade is in effect and ongoing Israeli offensive operations continue “across all fronts”: