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.

*  *  *

“That Is Not The Agreement We Have!” President Trump Slams Aya-TOLL-Ah Charging Fees For Hormuz Transit

The last few hours have set the hopes for peace back a little as President Trump and the Ayatollah traded blows over control of the Strait of Hormuz.

First was the new Supreme Leader, Ayatoolah Motjaba Khameini’s post on X that:

“We will definitely take the management of the Strait of Hormuz to a new phase.”

Which prompted a response from President Trump:

“There are reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hormuz Strait — They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now!”

And then an hour or so later, President Trump turned the rhetoric dial up to ’11’ once again:

“Iran is doing a very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz.

That is not the agreement we have!”

Having earlier described Iran’s leaders as “much more reasonable” than their public comments would suggest, the new Supreme Leader also repeated demands for war reparations – a definite non-starter for US negotiators.

Stocks dipped and oil rallied modestly on this tête-à-tête.

It sounds like the adults really need to get in a room and figure this out (VP JD Vance is expected to lead the US delegation in discussions scheduled for Islamabad on Saturday) or the rally in stocks (and decline in oil costs) will be gone before anyone books any profits.

*  *  *

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 morning.

The Ayatollah appeals for Gulf countries to distance themselves from Washington:

We’re still waiting for an appropriate response from you, our southern neighbors, so that we may demonstrate our brotherhood and goodwill to you. This will not be realized unless you renounce the Arrogant Powers, who miss no opportunity to humiliate and exploit you.

— Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei (@MKhamenei_ir) April 9, 2026

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…

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.

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.”

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.

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.

* * *

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.

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.

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.

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.     

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.

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.

* * *

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.

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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.

* * *

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.