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Trump Demands DOJ Probe Of Maryland’s 500,000 “Illegal” Mail-In Ballots

Trump Demands DOJ Probe Of Maryland’s 500,000 “Illegal” Mail-In Ballots

Submitted by Maryland Freedom Caucus,

President Donald Trump is demanding immediate action from the Department of Justice over Maryland’s exploding mail-in ballot scandal, and he’s not mincing words.

In a Truth Social post on Monday, Trump slammed the fiasco:

 “In Maryland, they sent out 500,000 Illegal Mail In Ballots, and they got caught! So now, they’re going to send out 500,000 more Mail In Ballots, but nobody knows what’s happening with the first 500,000 they sent. … I’m going to ask the Attorney General of the United States, and the DOJ, to bring an immediate investigation into this situation.”

The Maryland State Board of Elections admitted late last week that a third-party vendor printed and mailed roughly 400,000 ballots for the June 23 gubernatorial primary, with an undetermined number of voters receiving the wrong party’s candidates. Because officials cannot tell exactly who received the flawed ballots, they are re-mailing replacements to every voter who requested one before May 14. However, the original ballots remain in circulation.

The Maryland Freedom Caucus was first out of the gate. On May 16, we issued a press release exposing the crisis, demanding that Jared DeMarinis release Maryland’s voter rolls for a federal audit, and warning that “400,000 double ballots in circulation” threaten the fundamental principle of one vote, one person.

This is not an isolated glitch. Last fall, the Maryland Freedom Caucus and our partners at Secure the Vote MD blew the lid off the Ian Roberts case — an illegal alien from Guyana who was registered to vote in Maryland for years, requested absentee ballots, and remained on the active rolls even after his arrest. That single case proved what we’ve warned for years: Maryland’s voter rolls are bloated with non-citizens, deceased voters, and people who no longer live here.

Worse, when the DOJ requested Maryland’s full voter registration data last year, the State Board of Elections stonewalled. Administrator DeMarinis specifically asked whether the list would be used for immigration enforcement before providing anything meaningful – a clear admission that transparency threatens their continued subterfuge.

President Trump’s call for a DOJ investigation is the national spotlight this scandal desperately needs. Permanent, no-excuse mail-in voting was sold as “convenient and secure.” In reality, it has become a black box that erodes public trust and invites chaos, exactly as the Maryland Freedom Caucus has warned.

But calls for investigation without an immediate remedy will not restore Marylanders’ confidence in their elections. Governor Wes Moore must immediately issue an executive order to restore strict chain-of-custody controls: end the use of unmonitored drop boxes, suspend the use of USPS for local delivery, require that all marked ballots be returned directly to a local Board of Elections office, and implement real-time logging so every ballot can be tracked from voter to canvass.

Tyler Durden
Mon, 05/18/2026 – 20:55

Wayfair CFO’s Muted Home-Goods Demand Outlook Offers More Bad News For Realtors

Wayfair CFO’s Muted Home-Goods Demand Outlook Offers More Bad News For Realtors

Wayfair CFO Kate Gulliver appeared at JPMorgan’s conference Monday morning in a discussion with the bank’s retail analyst, Christopher Horvers.

What caught our attention in the 35-minute conversation, which ranged from the online home-goods retailer’s financial position to broader consumer trends, was Gulliver’s outlook on home goods and housing markets.

A more active housing market typically drives demand for big-ticket home purchases such as sofas, tables, and other furnishings sold on Wayfair’s online platform.

However, her forecast for the remainder of the year was decidedly muted, a gloomy outlook that may leave realtors and mortgage brokers uneasy.

Horvers asked Gulliver about the home goods and housing markets, including whether she was worried about soaring energy prices, the post-stimulus era, and how those factors could affect consumer demand for home goods over the rest of the year.

Her outlook for the rest of the year was not great. She noted that the home goods category “has not been a tailwind for us.”

At some point, this cyclical category will recover, but our expectations for 2026 and our guidance for the second quarter do not assume any category recovery. Our operating assumption for 2026 is that the category stays where it is,” Gulliver explained.

Gulliver’s dismal view of the home goods and housing markets for the rest of the year offers valuable insight because Wayfair is one of the largest online home-furnishings platforms in the U.S.

Much of Wayfair’s consumer base consists of millennials and Gen Xers in the household-formation cycle, including raising a family, buying a home, or moving into a larger residence, all of which drive demand for furniture and such.

This muted activity she observes and forecasts also comes as the 30-year mortgage rate is back around 6.5%, up roughly 35 basis points from when the U.S.-Iran conflict began in late February.

Related:

Gulliver’s view serves as a proxy for the housing market. Her comments this morning offer no relief for the struggling realtors and mortgage brokers over the last several years.

Also to note, rate markets are pricing in hikes next year as energy inflation from the Hormuz chokepoint disruption pushes up inflation expectations and TSY yields soar.

Tyler Durden
Mon, 05/18/2026 – 20:30

Combined NextEra-Dominion Would Have 130-GW Large-Load Pipeline

Combined NextEra-Dominion Would Have 130-GW Large-Load Pipeline

By Robert Walton of UtilityDive

Summary

  • NextEra Energy plans to acquire Dominion Energy in an all-stock transaction announced Monday, potentially creating the largest regulated electric utility in the world — with 10 million customers in four states — if the deal passes muster with three state and two federal regulatory commissions.

  • The companies have proposed $2.25 billion in bill credits for Dominion customers in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, and they say all customers would see benefits from “enhanced scale in operations, procurement, construction and financing.”

  • The combined company would have a more than 130-GW large-load pipeline of projects and a rate base of $138 billion, which it expects to grow at approximately 11% through 2032, according to the deal announcement.

Company officials frame the deal as a win for customers by maintaining operating stability and putting downward pressure on rates while allowing the combined utility company to grow faster and more efficiently. Customer advocates, however, warned of the deal’s potential impact on consumers, and analysts say it could signal shifts in the utility operating model and wholesale markets.

“The Dominion Energy name isn’t changing, nor is how we operate locally, serve our customers or engage with the community,” NextEra Chairman, President and CEO John Ketchum said in a statement.

NextEra Chairman, President and CEO John Ketchum speaks during a panel at the BlackRock Infrastructure Summit in March 2026, in Washington, D.C.

The merger has been approved by the boards of directors of Dominion and NextEra, and the companies say they expect to close the transaction in 12 to 18 months subject to approvals from a host of regulators. The deal must be approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Virginia State Corporation Commission, North Carolina Utilities Commission and the Public Service Commission of South Carolina.

Customer advocate group Clean Virginia called for state officials to subject the proposed merger “to the most rigorous scrutiny possible.”

“This deal would hand control of Virginia’s electric grid to a company with a deeply troubling track record,” Brennan Gilmore, executive director of Clean Virginia, said in a statement.

“Before Virginia ratepayers are locked into a relationship with NextEra Energy, every policymaker and regulator in the Commonwealth needs to understand what NextEra has done in Florida,” he added, pointing to rate hikes and scandals around dark money political advocacy.

The companies say they plan to maintain dual headquarters in Florida and Virginia. NextEra owns Florida Power & Light, which serves 6 million customer accounts. Dominion serves 3.6 million electric customers in its three-state territory, and about 500,000 gas customers in South Carolina.

The combined entity would have an almost $250 billion market capitalization, which the companies said would make them the “world’s largest regulated electric utility business by market capitalization and one of the world’s largest energy infrastructure companies.”

Consensus data from S&P Global Visible Alpha paints a picture of two growing companies. Analysts expect NextEra to have total operating revenues of $30.6 billion this year, up 11.68% year over year; Dominion is expected to see total operating revenues of $18.4 billion, up 11.5% year over year.

Limited energy capacity remains a vital issue for the broad adoption of AI.

“This deal may support increased scale and efficiency in the space to support the ramp in data center compute,” Melissa Otto, head of research at S&P Global Visible Alpha, said in an email to Utility Dive.

The deal would combine “two well-run utility franchises,” Alex Kania, BTIG managing director and utilities and power analyst, said in a statement. There is some question about how the combination could impact operations in the PJM Interconnection, he noted.

“We believe [the deal] could mark a step to a return to the integrated utility model that has largely been abandoned over the past 10 years — but we think that model may end up being one of the better ways to address PJM resource adequacy. Stay tuned,” Kania said in a research note.

Dominion’s pipeline of contracted data center capacity now stands at about 51 GW, the company said earlier this month in its first-quarter earnings. And in Virginia, its largest utility market, Dominion sold 4% more electricity year over year in the first quarter of 2026. 

Dominion’s position in Virginia’s “data center alley” means the utility is “very well situated for large load growth,” Kania said. Its large load pipeline and PJM interconnection portfolio would pair with NextEra’s “vast generation development platform” of gas, renewables and storage.

The combined entity would be “one of just a few players in PJM that could readily offer comprehensive grid and generation solutions to large load,” Kania said.

The deal “makes much sense for NextEra to rebalance its business mix,” Jefferies equity analyst Julien Dumoulin-Smith said in a Monday note. NextEra’s unregulated business has been growing faster than its utilities, “a trend expected to continue,” he said. “Buying a regulated business has been important for years.”

The combined business would be “anchored by a more than 80% regulated business mix, with approximately 11% regulatory capital employed growth across four fast-growing states with constructive regulatory environments,” Dominion and NextEra said.

Officials expressed confidence in getting the merger across the finish line.

“We have some experience getting deals done,” Robert Blue, Dominion chair, president and CEO, said in a call with analysts. “We feel very good about the way the deal has come together, with the focus on customers and communities, and that gives us a high degree of confidence.”

Under terms of the deal, Dominion shareholders will receive 0.8138 shares of NextEra Energy for each share of Dominion they own. The companies say this will result in NextEra and Dominion shareholders owning approximately 74.5% and 25.5% of the combined company, respectively.

Tyler Durden
Mon, 05/18/2026 – 20:05

Almost All Non-Iran Tankers That Entered The Persian Gulf During The War, Have Successfully Exited With A Cargo

Almost All Non-Iran Tankers That Entered The Persian Gulf During The War, Have Successfully Exited With A Cargo

Despite a near-halt in daily Hormuz traffic, Bloomberg reports that almost all large non-Iranian tankers that have entered the Persian Gulf during the war appear to have successfully exited with a cargo, underscoring the emergence of a small group of shipowners willing to risk crossing the Strait of Hormuz.

At least 19 oil- and liquefied petroleum gas-carrying ships without Iranian links have both entered and exited Hormuz since March 1, according to vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. In contrast, about 100 such tankers that entered the Gulf before the conflict remain stuck for fear of attacks, the data show.

As noted above, merchant shipping through the vital energy chokepoint has – for the most part – ground to a halt since US-Israeli attacks at the end of February triggered a wave of Iranian retaliation and led Tehran to tighten its grip over the waterway. Yet a handful of vessels have been managing to cross under an array of schemes, including deals arranged at a government level (with payment in bitcoin) in some cases (and keep in mind that the numbers, both for ships stranded in the Gulf and those making the crossing, could be higher in reality, given many vessels in the region are switching off their satellite signals to protect against strikes).

Of the 19 ships to cross, seven have been linked to Greece’s Dynacom Tankers Management. The company has been one of the main firms to continue using the strait since the conflict began. In true honey badger form, the company is known to turn off its ship transponders and then to quietly make the Hormuz crossing usually under the cover of night. It is unclear if Dynacom had arranged any special arrangement with Tehran ahead of its crossings.  

The cargoes the vessels were carrying have largely been from the United Arab Emirates and Iraq. Of the rest, three were transporting oil from Saudi Arabia or a mix of oil from the kingdom and other Arab Gulf nations.

Only one large tanker that entered the Gulf after the war started hasn’t left, the data show.

The crossings are only a fraction of the typical Hormuz transits before the war, which accounted for about a fifth of the world’s oil supply.

 

 

Tyler Durden
Mon, 05/18/2026 – 19:40

The Great American Squeeze Of 2026

The Great American Squeeze Of 2026

Authored by MN Gordon via Economic Prism,

Does your American dream feel like it’s being put through a hydraulic press?

If so, you’re not alone. Between rising rent and gas prices, escalating grocery bills, and sky-high health insurance premiums, Americans are feeling a relentless squeeze from all directions. That’s the painful reality.

Recent economic numbers point to a weary consumer. In fact, consumer sentiment is at a 74-year low. To put that in perspective, Americans feel more pessimistic about the economy today than they did during the 2008 financial crisis, the stagflation of the 1970s, or the height of the 2020 lockdowns.

What’s going on?

Why does it feel like your paycheck is evaporating before it even hits your bank account, while the S&P 500 is hitting record highs over 7,400?

The answer has to do with the K-shaped reality of 2026.

For years, economists have tried to gaslight American workers and consumers. They blamed social media and partisanship. They reasoned that if your preferred politician isn’t occupying the White House, you complain a bit more to a pollster.

Several years ago, Kyla Scanton coined the term “vibecession” to describe a situation where the data looks fine on paper, but people feel bad in their souls. But what about when the data looks bad on paper?

Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, recently pointed out today’s reality. The vibes have officially been replaced by cold, hard financial pain. When the University of Michigan sentiment reading drops to 49.8, it’s not just because people are grumpy on Twitter. It’s because the cost of basic survival has outpaced the ability to pay for it.

What’s more, as middleclass families drown in debt, the wealthy flourish. This creates a highly visible divide that presages social instability.

A Tale of Two Americas

The fact is you likely took a pay cut last month. Even if your boss gave you a 3 percent raise this year, you’re still losing ground. With inflation rising at an annual rate of 3.8 percent, per this week’s CPI report for April, your real wages are in the red. Thanks to the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran the energy component of the CPI is increasing at an annual rate of 17.9 percent.

When consumer prices rise faster than your income, that’s not a vibe. That’s the real time erosion of your income. And this is just the beginning…

Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM, warns that as the supply shocks from the Middle East filter through the system, May is going to be even worse. We are essentially footing the bill for global conflicts through higher prices.

Yet the effects of inflation are felt differently throughout the economy. Those in the higher income brackets are benefiting from an inflating stock market. Retail sales are up 4 percent year over year. So, too, Disney recently confirmed that its domestic park bookings and cruise reservations remain strong through the second half of 2026.

Then there are those in the middle- and lower-income brackets who can’t keep up. They don’t own stocks. They don’t own a house with a 3 percent mortgage. For this group, personal loan applications are spiking. Credit card debt is at an all-time high. They’re also being forced out of their cars and onto the bus because they literally can’t afford the commute.

These diverging stories are both true. This is the tale of the K-shaped economy.

The top line of the K is heading toward the moon. These are the households earning $150,000 or more. For them, the squeeze is a gentle love pat. Their homes have skyrocketed in value, and their stock portfolios are thriving as the S&P 500 bubbles up.

The bottom line of the K, however, is a steep slide downward. This represents the bottom 50 percent of the income distribution. For these families, the resilience everyone has talked about for the last few years has finally hit a wall.

Quiet Desperation

When wages don’t cover the bills, people don’t stop eating. They reach for the plastic. Hence, there’s been a massive increase in people turning to personal loans and credit cards just to make it from one Friday to the next.

This is the latent phase of a recession. It doesn’t show up in the unemployment numbers (which are still a steady 4.3 percent) or the payroll data (115,000 jobs added in April). It shows up in the quiet desperation of an ascending balance on a 24 percent interest credit card.

When people finally get to the end of their credit card rope, we enter the demand destruction phase. This is when people are too broke to buy stuff. Lower-income households are forced to cut back on gasoline and non-essential spending.

There’s also a big picture issue coming into focus that Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic advisor at Allianz, has zoomed in on. Specifically, labor’s share of GDP has hit its lowest level in BLS history.

What that means is that of all the wealth being generated in the USA, a smaller and smaller piece of the pie is going to the people who actually do the work. In other words, more and more of the economy’s capital is being directed to the people who own the stocks, land, and the companies.

This is why the stock market is hitting record highs while the average worker feels like they’re drowning. The market likes muted wage growth because it means companies keep more profit. But for the person trying to pay rent, muted wage growth is a disaster.

Beyond the Siren

Regardless of whether the economy enters a full-blown recession, a large segment of workers and consumers are suffering a painful squeeze. For those being squeezed it adds insult to see people booking luxury cruises when they’re having to choose between buying gas or buying groceries.

As households max out their credit cards, we can expect to see a wave of defaults. If this persists, the banks may get nervous and tighten credit. This will make it even harder for the bottom half to get the loans they need to survive.

Also, with the cost of living so high, middle-class families are raiding their 401(k)s or stopping contributions altogether. People are trading their future security for today’s gas and bread.

The American worker and consumer have proved to be resilient over many years. They persevered through pandemic lockdowns, supply chain meltdowns, and years of inflation. But even the strongest rubber band snaps if you stretch it far enough.

The current sentiment data isn’t a vibe. It’s a warning siren. While the top earners continue to power the retail numbers and fill up the Disney parks, the foundation of the economy – the working and middle class – is being hollowed out by a combination of geopolitical shocks and a declining share of the nation’s wealth.

Until wages outpace the cost of a gallon of gas and a bag of groceries, the American consumer will continue to get squeezed. Alas, there appears to be no relief on the horizon.

With the Strait of Hormuz effectively shuttered, this squeeze will only intensify. As global energy flows cease, surging crude prices will inevitably bleed into your grocery bill. From the diesel powering delivery trucks to the fertilizers growing our crops, the cost of survival is headed for a painful, sustained peak.

*  *  *

Get a free copy of an important special report called, “Cash Machine – Why You Should Own this Mineral Royalty with a 12% Yield,” when you join the Economic Prism mailing list today. If you want a special trial deal to check out MN Gordon’s Wealth Prism Letter, you can grab that here.]

Tyler Durden
Mon, 05/18/2026 – 19:15

Lawfare? Royal Caribbean Sinks After Mexican President Orders Review Of Resort Project

Lawfare? Royal Caribbean Sinks After Mexican President Orders Review Of Resort Project

Shares of Royal Caribbean Group slid to session lows around midday after Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her environment minister would review the cruise operator’s proposed water park project in Quintana Roo, injecting new regulatory risk into the company’s expansion plans.

President Sheinbaum was speaking at a regular press conference Monday morning, where she addressed a range of topics, from drug traffickers and President Trump to Royal Caribbean.

Sheinbaum said that SEMARNAT México, Mexico’s federal environment ministry – formally the Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales – is conducting a very detailed review of Royal Caribbean’s tourism project in Mahahual, Quintana Roo.

She assured that no construction would be permitted if it endangered the area’s ecological balance.

Shares of Royal Caribbean fell to session lows, down about 3% around 12:45 ET.

The stock is locked in a bear market year to date, down 26%, and appears set to test $250 support. Shares have faced resistance and peaked at around $367 in August 2025.

There was no immediate indication as to why Sheinbaum’s administration singled out Royal Caribbean, or whether the scrutiny was connected in any way to rising tensions with the Trump administration’s war against drug cartels or pressure campaign on Cuba. 

Tyler Durden
Mon, 05/18/2026 – 18:50

Be Very Afraid: The Hantavirus And Suicide Dolphins

Be Very Afraid: The Hantavirus And Suicide Dolphins

Authored by Donald Jefferies vis substack,

Bend over and keep smiling

Our incomparably bad leaders appear ready to foist another “pandemic” on the always unwary public. They proved in 2020 that the entire world could be shut down in a matter of days. With no troops or police needed. Just a corrupt, kept press, and compromised political “representatives.” They know that nothing sells like fear porn.

The latest potential “pandemic” is called the Hantavirus. Authorities, who are always telling us something, tell us it’s been around for a while. It is spread primarily by contact with an infected rodent. Well, don’t we all routinely have contact with rodents, infected or not? Specifically, the CDC informs us, by contact with rodent “urine, droppings, and saliva.” That’s not a scenario I can easily picture. I didn’t even know rodents had saliva. Just how does one get close enough to come in contact with it? Hantavirus symptoms can include: fatigue, fever, chills, muscle aches, headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. To a novice, those symptoms sound pretty generic. Like the flu. Or the common cold. Or the never isolated COVID-19. Just read the information on these contrived maladies, provided by the discredited CDC and WHO, with a little discernment. The Medical Industrial Complex in all its splendor. And oh, yes- “Conspiracy theorists” claim “Hanta” means fraud. In Hebrew.

The “experts” also inform us that the primary way the Hantavirus spreads from human to human is through sexual intercourse. Well, we should all be breathing a sign of relief over that. I am not exactly in the loop, but it’s my distinct impression that people, especially young people, are having less sex than perhaps any time since when the Puritans and Calvinism reigned supreme. If you’re looking for a real epidemic, forget rodent excretions. How about the Incel Virus? We have more 30, 40, and 50 year old male virgins in America than this country has ever seen. I think that’s the case in other areas of the world. Young women have been indoctrinated to “not need” men, and thus they don’t really want them. Young men have been forced to the extreme of “going their own way” without female companionship. It’s all very sad, but good news for a virus that is spread through sexual contact. Just stop having sex and there will be nothing to worry about. And refrain from intimate contact with rodents.

It appears as if Donald Trump is once again going to play the dastardly villain here, as he did during the incredibly successful COVID Psyop. He is already being blasted in the state controlled media for “downplaying” this dire threat, and for cutting funding to study the Hantavirus last year. Exactly how would they “study” it? Use prisoners, mental patients, and orphans to test what happens if you French Kiss a rodent? Our government has historically used prisoners, mental patients, and orphans for all kinds of hideous experiments. I covered this in detail in my book Crimes and Coverups in American Politics: 1776-1963. We’ve seen this movie before. Remember, Trumpenstein “downplayed” the seriousness of COVID, as well. But he signed the lockdown orders, and pushed the dangerous warp speed vaccine, He mocked Fauci, but refuses to prosecute him. Naturally, The Simpsons saw it coming. The Hantavirus was referenced on the X-Files in the 1990s. They should have an Emmy for Predictive Programming.

Much as he did during COVID, Trump dismissed the concerns of “journalists” who have been assigned to peddle fear porn, by proclaiming: “We should be fine.” Then, asked by these laughable representatives of a “free press,” if the public should be worried about the “outbreak” spreading, Trumpenstein replied, “I hope not.” Scientific American was among those most alarmed, as they explained, “In 2025 the Trump administration eliminated funding for a group that had been running a pilot project aimed at studying the type of hantavirus that has been confirmed to be behind an ongoing outbreak on a cruise ship.” This project was “conducted through the West African Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases (WAC-EID), one of 10 centers that comprised the Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases (CREID) network.” All these centers “were shuttered last year after the National Institutes of Health decided the research was ‘unsafe.’” Wait, so they’re upset that he stopped funding research that was determined to be “unsafe?” And why are cruise ships always involved in these productions? Have you seen the video of the very, very gay passenger on the Hantavirus cruise? Assuring us it’s “real?” He invited immediate comparisons to Erika Kirk. I went on one cruise in my life. That was before that guy got knocked off on his honeymoon. And fake “pandemics?” None for me, please.

I’m certainly not predicting that this big, beautiful fake virus is going to become a worldwide, or even just American psyop. I’m not suggesting that they will sell it like they sold COVID. They’ve made doomsters believe that SARS, and the monkey virus, and so many others, were going to shutdown society, just like COVID. They always pulled back, and the potential “pandemics” came and went without anyone noticing. But they really upped the ante during the COVID Psyop, and there was zero pushback from the world’s population. And the same front man- Trumpenstein- is in the Oval Office. Ready to send out conflicting signals, as always. I do think there would be less compliance with their ridiculous “mandates,” which are not laws and definitely not based on “science.” But it’s clear we’re still outnumbered. Actress Jean Smart has spoken out, claiming that her husband died from the Hantavirus in 2021. No disrespect intended, but it was unheard of then, at the peak of COVID. Did he come into questionable contact with rodents? Who was he having sex with? Gene Hackman’s 65 year old wife, we are now told, died from the Hantavirus. Recall how they both were strangely found dead at home in 2025. Who was she having sex with?

As if all this wasn’t enough to worry a befuddled public, Iran is now being accused of using mine-carrying “Kamikaze Dolphins” to attack US warships in the Strait of Hormuz. The poor Suicide Dolphins probably aren’t being promised any virgins in the afterlife, either. The whole Strait of Hormuz confuses me. I don’t know if the Suicide Dolphins are being used to blow it open, because the United States is blocking it, or if they’re assigned to blow up the US ships that try to pass through the Strait that Iran has opened to everyone but America. And Israel, I guess. But it doesn’t look like Israel is doing much fighting. Just bombing civilians, as usual. They’ve already told Trumpenstein that there will be no non-Irish boots on the ground. Psycho Pete Hegseth cryptically told the press, “I can’t confirm or deny whether we have kamikaze dolphins, but I can confirm they don’t.” Well, I’m sure that our Suicide Dolphins would be better than anyone else’s. Where are all the animal rights protesters?

Really, shouldn’t this absurd story about kamikaze dolphins make us all question the whole “suicide bomber” claims? I’ve never found such stories credible. But it plays into the whole “terrorist” mythos. What is the source for the promise of 72 virgins after death (the number seems to vary) which seemingly motivates suicide bombers? Such outlandishness isn’t found anywhere in the Quran, leading reasonable people to suspect it originated from the Mossad or the CIA. By dehumanizing Muslims, they have managed to convince too many good people that they are willing to kill others, with the belief that Allah will reward them for doing so. Primarily through gratuitous sex with a whole lot of different females. That sounds more like the fantasy of a nonbelieving incel than a religious “fanatic.” What is the difference between “devout” and “fanatic?” If there were Muslims whose goal was to be a suicide bomber, wouldn’t they be offended by being replaced by Dolphins, doing the work fanatics won’t?

Remember when the beloved Hillary Clinton claimed that Qadafi/Kadafy/Gaddafi had loaded his troops with Viagra, so that they could become literal raping machines? Talk about projection! If you’ve read my aforementioned Crimes and Coverups book, and/or my latest, American Memory Hole, you know just how much raping our young men in uniform have been guilty of, going back at least to Sherman’s genocidal march through Georgia. And they didn’t need any Viagra. They didn’t discriminate, either. The Union boys loved violating the Black females. During the “good war,” the “greatest generation” raped lots of Germans, and so many Japanese that they had to build a special brothel to accommodate them. During our forever war in Iraq, we all saw the photos of the naked male Iraqi prisoners, with fluorescent bulbs and the like shoved up their anuses. With a pretty, smiling female U.S. soldier beside them. And if Seymour Hersh can be believed, they raped a bunch of boys in front of their mothers.

My friend Tony Arterburn tells me that during WWII, the Allies tried using bats, with little explosive devices strapped on their tiny backs. So I don’t doubt for a second that our government would, if they could, utilize kamikaze dolphins. Or sharks. Or whales. Or shrimp. How far removed was the MKULTRA mind control research, in particular the idea of Manchurian Candidates, from a suicide bomber? It wasn’t “terrorists” who developed those programs. And the “terrorists” didn’t invent “COVID-19” either, and falsify all those statistics to make it appear that it was a new Black Plague. Maybe they can figure out a way to strap vials containing the Hantavirus to the backs of these patriotic dolphins. Unleash the Hantavirus on the Iranians. If they don’t like that, we can send some pretty female soldiers, or even better some transitioned soldiers, to deliver fluorescent light bulbs to lonely Iranian males. Think of how humiliated they’ll be, with transwomen violating them like that. Wage war on us for 47 years, will you?

COVID demonstrated that nothing motivates a society, indeed a world, to become obedient more than fear. The fear of an invisible virus which could kill them. Feeling okay? You’re just asymptomatic. You could still have it! Get the PCR test right away. You know, the one with the 90 percent false positive rate. The one repudiated by the man who developed it, who had the proper sense of drama to die right on the eve of “COVID-19” commanding the attention of the entire world. And call your doctor. Always call your doctor. Don’t decide for yourself. Be responsible and think of others. Did I mention that you should call your doctor? The PCR test isn’t the only discredited one you can take, you know. You may think you’re healthy, but we’ll determine that. If this new Hantavirus whipper snapper requires a vaccine, get it. Get every booster. There may be variants. Endless variants. For years. You’ll have more things stuck in you than Madonna did at the height of her incomprehensible fame.

We are hearing the same codewords that we heard repeatedly during the Greatest Psyop in the History of the World. America, especially under the rudderless leadership of the stupid, orange, micro-penis Trumpenstein, is “unequipped” to deal with the next pandemic. Or unprepared- that works just as well, and isn’t a juvenile pun. The honorable Bill Gates, renowned for catching a venereal disease from Russian babes on Epstein’s Lolita Island, is being lauded now, for his warning about the “next pandemic” in an interview last year. And his website named the Hantavirus as the next pandemic. In 2021. Insider information? Gates is forever warning about future pandemics. It excites him even more than anything Jeffrey Epstein could offer. As a lifelong eugenicist, Gates is obsessed with millions, even billions of human beings dying. He pretends that he would be horrified by this; that he is, in fact, opposed to such a culling of the herd. But his perpetually inappropriate smile suggests otherwise. And his answer to everything is more fear, more vaccinations, and more boosters.

It’s funny. I rarely recall hearing the word “pandemic” throughout the course of my life. I knew about the Black Plague in the Middle Ages. I knew that there had been an exceptionally bad flu during the WWI era. But there was never a sense that we should be “preparing” for some devastating national, or international health crisis. Since “pandemics” appear to be pretty common now, where were they from 1920-2020? Sure, you had Bill Gates and the WHO and the CDC staging a series of “simulations” which prophesized “COVID-19” with eerie accuracy. But the idea that people could be conditioned to wear ludicrous looking masks everywhere, and stay six feet apart, was unthinkable. To be fair, if a real scourge like cancer can be pretty much unknown before 1900, and no one question where it came from, why can’t “pandemics” just pop up every few years, to fulfill one of Bill Gates’s numerous predictions of them? Most people now think “COVID” is a permanent thing.

I wrote the only book that exposes the entire “COVID” fraud from the very beginning, Masking the Truth: How COVID-19 Destroyed Civil Liberties and Shut Down the World. They’ve done everything they can to stop people from reading it. It’s the most shadow banned book in the world. I don’t want to write one about a Hantavirus psyop. I really hope this turns out to be just another monkey virus. No one with a huge platform has ever told the whole truth about “COVID.” It wasn’t created in a Wuhan lab by the dastardly Chinese. It was the flu. Period. Just like Hantavirus will be, if they decide to stage another worldwide production. And I don’t believe “suicide bombers” are any more real than “COVID.” They lie to us all the time. To distract us from the misery so many of us are enduring. To distract us from their continuous crimes and corruption. To distract us from the potholes in the streets and our inadequate wages. To distract us from skyrocketing autism rates and plummeting life expectancy.

The people have to bear some blame here. I don’t care how many indoctrination classes you sat through in public school and college. How many films and TV shows with obvious messaging you watched. I sat through them, too. So did the millions of people who, against all odds, have awakened to the corruption and tyranny. They didn’t perform frontal lobotomies on you. You have the capacity to critically think. To ignore the cultural programming. How stupid would you have to be to fall for another “pandemic?” Or to believe in suicide dolphins? We should all tremble at the prospect of having our fate in the hands of a jury of our peers. Maybe they’ll go too far, with something like a fake alien invasion. But after “COVID,” can they go too far? They shut down the entire world! Don’t let it happen again, even if they back off with the Hantavirus.

Be prepared, as Bill Gates says. But not for a “pandemic.” Be prepared for authoritarian overreach. Remember, opposition to tyranny is obedience to God.

Tyler Durden
Mon, 05/18/2026 – 18:25

McDonald’s Worker Axed After Viral Video Shows Her Shoving Fries In Mouth Then Back In Box

McDonald’s Worker Axed After Viral Video Shows Her Shoving Fries In Mouth Then Back In Box

A Massachusetts McDonald’s worker was axed from her job after a revolting video captured her putting French fries into her mouth and then placing them back into a box, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports.

“So you want French fries today, right?” the worker appears to ask a customer while looking into the camera as she puts the fries from her mouth back in a box.

The vile clip went viral last week, prompting Southbridge police to launch an investigation alongside local health officials.

“We are also working to determine whether the food was ultimately served to a customer and to identify any individual who may have been affected,” police said, according to the New York Post.

The nauseating scene triggered an immediate customer backlash at the restaurant, leaving its owners in full damage-control mode.

The actions of these individuals are unacceptable and do not reflect our organization’s food safety standards or values. We conducted an internal review, and they are no longer employed by our organization,” the Spadea and Balducci families said in a joint statement obtained by the Post.

“We are proactively working with local authorities and the local health department, who found no public health concerns or violations. The wellbeing and safety of our Southbridge community remains our top priority.”

The fired employee, who has yet to be publicly identified, will also face criminal charges at the Dudley District Court.

Tyler Durden
Mon, 05/18/2026 – 18:00

Graham Calls For ‘Short But Forceful’ New Strikes On Iran, Complains Waiting For ‘Status Quo’ Talks Looks Weak

Graham Calls For ‘Short But Forceful’ New Strikes On Iran, Complains Waiting For ‘Status Quo’ Talks Looks Weak

At a moment the US-Iran ceasefire is officially on life support, and with the world’s most critical energy chokepoint remaining blocked while the American consumer is paying the price at the pump, beltway hawks are calling for renewed major military action to ‘solve’ the standoff.

Foremost among them, Senator Lindsey Graham, hit the Sunday news circuit to urge President Trump to rip up the current playbook and resume US major military strikes on Tehran. According to Graham, the current diplomatic paralysis and the shuttered Strait of Hormuz are only fueling Iran’s strategic position while inflicting severe economic pain domestically.

He has perhaps picked up on the bad optics of Trump’s constant barrage of Truth Social posts which often seem written in an exasperated and impatience style.

“I think the status quo is hurting us all,” Graham told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” – as he made the case for using military pressure to get the Iranians to comply with Washington demands on their nuclear program and other issues.

The well-known hawk from South Carolina correctly observed: “The longer the [Strait of Hormuz] is closed, the more we try to pursue a deal that never happens, the stronger Iran gets.” However, this reflects one of those ‘one more escalation step and the problem will be fixed’ approaches among the NeoCons. The ‘just one more thing’ usually perpetuates the quagmire. 

He turned to urging the president to “weaken them further” given that “there’s more targets to be had” – which is pretty much also the Israeli line.

Graham further said there are no signs that after the prior 38-day bombing campaign that Iran’s leadership has abandoned what he called the Islamic Republic’s supposed goal “to terrorize the world, destroy Israel, come after us.”

“Gas prices will come down when you put Iran in a box,Graham added. 

Another interesting moment in the interview came when the GOP senator seemed in agreement with Trump on not caring about Americans’ finances in comparison with the Iran nuclear question:

Trump drew criticism last week for saying he was not weighing Americans’ finances in the talks, comments that stirred Republican anxiety ahead of the midterm elections. Graham dismissed that concern.

“It’s worth losing my job,” he told Welker. “If I had to give my job up to make sure Iran would never have a nuclear weapon, I would do it.”

Iran is meanwhile still not backing down, after last Friday Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made clear that Tehran has “no trust” in Washington given its “contradictory messages”.

Graham calling for a “short but forceful” new military escalation against Iran…

He reiterated that Washington needs to get serious, while it is US officials saying Iran must show willingness to make compromise. At this point it seems Washington is the more desperate to get a deal done, but each side is waiting out the other.

Tyler Durden
Mon, 05/18/2026 – 15:45

Trump: Holding Off ‘Planned’ Attack On Iran At Request Of Gulf Allies, ‘Deal Will Be Made’

Trump: Holding Off ‘Planned’ Attack On Iran At Request Of Gulf Allies, ‘Deal Will Be Made’

Summary

  • Trump says holding off on ‘planned’ Tuesday attack upon request of Gulf states.
  • US denies earlier Tasnim report of agreeing to lift oil sanctions during talks; Trump tells NYP ‘not open’ to Iran concessions.
  • Trump calls for Iran’s total military surrender in Monday morning Truth Social post.
  • Oil rebounds on Tasnim reporting Iranian denial: Tehran “under no circumstances” will negotiate nuclear issue as part of an end to the war.
  • A flurry of (the somewhat typically-timed) Monday opener headlines have pushed oil prices lower, erasing weekend gains, including Al Arabia reporting that Iran is ready to accept a long-term nuclear freeze, instead of full dismantling.
  • Iran has submitted its latest proposal comprising 14-points through Pakistan, amid reports that the US has offered to lift sanctions on Iranian oil during the interim negotiating period.

US obtains Iranian enriched uranium by December 31?
Yes 26% · No 75%
View full market & trade on Polymarket

*  *  *

Trump: Asked by Gulf States to Hold Off Attacking Iran

Here we go again: Trump says he’s holding off a planned attack which was supposedly “scheduled” for Tuesday, at the request of Gulf leaders, including Qatar, KSA, and UAE. “A deal will be made,” he says…

Oil drops on the headlines, amid the ongoing roulette…

Iranian President Somewhat Defensive

A message from Iran’s president, perhaps aimed at those arguing that trying to engage the US has run its course. Words aimed at IRGC and domestic population, it appears…

“Dialogue does not mean surrender…” will “safeguard the interests and honor of Iran.”

Trump ‘Not Open’ to Any Concessions for Tehran: NYP Interview

Another repetition of the weeks-long stale-mated reality: …so Trump is ‘not open’ to any concessions, but Iran deal happening ‘soon’ – we are yet again told, as the Iranians themselves haven’t appeared to budge on anything.

President Trump told The NY Post on Monday he is “not open” to any concessions for Tehran after receiving the latest disappointing Iranian response on peace deal talks. Highlights:

  • And in an ominous foreshadowing, Trump said Iran knows “what’s going to be happening soon.”
  • In the brief phone interview The Post, Trump seemingly shut the door to Iran’s Sunday offer for a diplomatic talks.
  • Asked about his Friday remark that he’d be willing to accept a 20-year moratorium on Iranian uranium enrichment, Trump interjected: “I’m not open to anything right now.”
  • The president declined to get into any detail. “I can’t really talk to you about it. Too many things are happening,” he said.
  • “I can tell you they want to make a deal more than ever, because they know we’re—what’s going to be happening soon,” Trump said.
  • Questioned about regional source claims that Iran is attempting to “wait out” Washington on both the nuclear issue and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said he “hadn’t heard that.”

US Denies Tasnim Report It Agreed to Lift Iran Oil Sanctions

And the denials keep rolling in. First via CNBC:

…as the US side does not seem very confidently in control of the situation – quite the opposite:

Just like that, back to square zero once again we go… and back to headline roulette

US PLANS NEW RUSSIAN OIL WAIVER AS IRAN WAR CRUNCHES SUPPLIES

US DENIES REPORT IT AGREED TO LIFT IRAN OIL SANCTIONS: CNBC

Steady climb in oil continues on the denials…

Trump Monday Morning Truth Social ‘Threat’

Like clockwork, the start of the week threat from Trump on TS… same as the old threats:

And bearish news via Axios:

Iran has given an updated proposal for a deal to end the war, but the White House believes it is not a meaningful improvement and is insufficient for a deal, a senior U.S. official and a source briefed on the issue told Axios.

Oil Quickly Rebounding on Iranian Denial

In a far too familiar pattern, just before US market open on Monday, a slew of optimistic Iran headlines saw oil erase weekend gains, which mostly came through Saudi Arabia’s state-funded Al Arabiya, as well as Reuters… only to be followed by Iranian officials rejecting the substance of these reports, putting things firmly back at square one. 

Tasnim has newly cited Iranian government sources who seek to make clear that “Iran under no circumstances” will engage in new nuclear negotiations for an end to the war. Contradicting the earlier morning reports, it still sees negotiations to find peace in the war with the US as separate from the nuclear file. “Fundamental differences between the Iranian and American texts still remain”, Tasnim reports, citing a source.

“Despite some changes in the new American text, fundamental differences stemming from the Americans’ exaggeration and lack of realism remain,” Tasnim writes, citing the Iranian source. According to more of the statements per state media:

  • “Iran will not abandon its firm and principled positions on ending the war and realizing the rights of the Iranian people”.
  • “Iran’s frozen assets must be returned to the Iranian people in a transparent and definitive manner, and paper promises are of no use”.
  • “Despite some promises, there is disagreement about the return of the frozen funds”.
  • “Iran’s determination regarding the necessity of paying compensation by the Americans for the military aggression against Iran is very serious”.
  • “The Americans are far from Iran’s demands regarding its amount and some other issues.”
  • “the Americans are still trying to tie the negotiations to end the war to the nuclear issue, which is against logic and Iran will not agree to it. The Americans must understand that Iran will in no way agree to an end to the war in return for nuclear commitments”.
  • “Iran has not and does not have any intention of building nuclear weapons, and this claim is just an excuse and deception by the Americans. This issue has also been emphasized in the new text”.

Oil reacted as expected to this official ‘denial’ of the prior optimism – quickly rebounding, also as Trump is said to be “losing patience” with the progress of talks. A US source has told Al Jazeera Iran has “days not weeks” to show progress.

The optimism and then denials happened within a span of a couple hours…

Tasnim: Another Iranian Ship Breaks Through US Blockade Line

Iranian state media is claiming that a Iranian oil tanker under US sanctions that was off the coast of India two weeks ago has now docked at Kharg Island, having broken through the US naval blockade. Tasnim reports that “the LPG tanker passed through the US blockade line undetected and entered Iranian waters.” 

The Pentagon has been asserting an essentially airtight blockade on ‘illicit’ ships going to or from Iranian ports. CENTCOM has said it has turned around at least 75 vessels, while Iranian media has since the blockade’s start touted several ships making it through.

Long-Term Nuclear Freeze on Table

Saudi state-owned Al Arabiya early Monday has issued a bombshell if true (but still very much not officially confirmed), reporting that Iran has agreed to a long-term nuclear freeze instead of a complete dismantling. The outlet also reports that Iran has withdrawn its demand for compensation, instead demanding economic concessions. However, this could be highly dubious, given over the past several days Tehran has not shown willingness to back down from this demand of compensation.

It also seems Russia’s offer to take and temporarily hold Iran’s enriched uranium is being taken seriously. Here are the alleged “leaks” of the working draft peace document:

  • Working on a condition transfer of enriched uranium to Russia instead of the US.
  • Seeking multiple international guarantees for any agreement.
  • Wants Pakistan and Oman to have a ‘role’ in any ‘clash’ in the Strait of Hormuz.
  • Seeking a political formation that allows Iran to save face.
  • Separate the maritime route from nuclear issues.

Oil pushes lower on the additional headlines, following initial reports that the US would lift sanctions on Iranian oil during the negotiating period…

As a reminder from days ago: “US President Donald Trump said Friday that he would accept a 20-year suspension of the uranium enrichment at the heart of Iran’s rogue nuclear program if Tehran gave a “real” guarantee, in an apparent shift from his previous demand that Iran permanently halt its program and his pledge to ensure Iran can never attain nuclear weapons.”

US Lifting Oil Sanctions During Negotiation Period: Tasnim

Tasnim news agency says Iran has submitted its latest proposal comprising 14 points through Pakistan. State sources say the focus by Iranian leadership is to end the war and build trust. This as Pakistan’s interior minister has extended his Tehran visit for a third day.

In this context a source close to the negotiating team reportedly told Tasnim that, unlike their previous texts, Washington agreed in the new text to lift Iran’s oil sanctions during the negotiation period. This is a first big sign of progress since the White House reportedly sent five ‘counter’ conditions to Tehran, which only offered a partial sanctions reduction.

Per more from Tasnim: 

  • Waiving sanctions means temporarily lifting sanctions.

  • Iran insists that lifting all sanctions on Iran should be part of the US’s commitments.

  • However, the US has proposed suspending OFAC until a final understanding is reached.

The headline was enough to push oil down, erasing the gains over the weekend…

Another blurb via TASS, offering a little more in terms of likely conflicting interpretations and expectations:

According to the source, unlike in its previous proposals, the US has agreed in its new offer to suspend oil sanctions against Iran for the duration of the talks. The source noted that Tehran, for its part, insists on the lifting of all sanctions, while Washington is only ready to waive US Treasury sanctions until a final agreement is reached.

More Latest Developments

According to more of the latest headlines via Al Jazeera:

  • Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson says talks between Iran and the US are continuing through Pakistan.
  • He added that Iranian and Omani technical teams met in Oman to negotiate a mechanism for ensuring safe transit in the Strait of Hormuz.
  • Kuwait and Qatar have condemned drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, which officials say originated from Iraqi airspace.
  • The Israeli army says it struck more than 30 targets in southern Lebanon, which it claims were used by Hezbollah to attack Israeli forces.
  • The Israeli navy has seized vessels that were part of the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, arresting 100 activists on board.

And more developments via Newsquawk:

  • US President Trump warned on Truth Social that the clock is ticking for Iran and that they better get moving fast, or there won’t be anything left for them, and that time is of the essence.
  • US President Trump declined to give a specific deadline for negotiations with Iran and will hold a Situation Room meeting with his national security team on Tuesday to discuss possible options for military action, while he spoke with Israeli PM Netanyahu about the situation in Iran, according to Axios. Trump also stated that he still thinks Iran wants a deal and he is waiting for an updated Iranian proposal, which he hopes will be better than the prior offer. Furthermore, Axios’s Ravid reported that Trump threatened that attacks would resume with greater intensity if the Iranian regime does not come up with a better proposal, while Channel 12’s Kraus posted that President Trump said in a phone call that he thinks the Iranians should be afraid of what’s going on right now.
  • Pakistan shared revised Iranian proposal to end the war with the US on Sunday night, according to Pakistani sources. The course added that “we don’t have much time”, adding that both countries “keep changing their goalposts”.
  • Western sources say the new Iranian proposal includes a commitment of unclear value not to produce nuclear weapons but no mention of uranium or Hormuz, according to Journalist Segal.
  • Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Baghaei said talks with the US continue through Pakistani mediation. The spokesperson added that they have made great efforts for safe movement and protection of the Strait of Hormuz and are in constant contact with Oman to develop a mechanism. On Uranium, Baghaei said Tehran does not need any party to recognize its right to uranium enrichment and will not discuss during negotiations with the US.
  • Iranian Defence Ministry spokesman Brigadier General Reza Talaei-Nik warned of a regretful response to enemies and said that Iranian armed forces are fully prepared to confront any potential attack by the US and Israeli regime, according to IRNA.
  • Iranian Major General Rezaei said Iran is serious about diplomacy and negotiations, but is more serious about dealing with the aggressor, while he added that the US must now prove its good intentions and that Iranian armed forces are on the trigger as diplomatic efforts continue.
  • Iran said transit through the Strait of Hormuz would flow again once its conflict with the US and Israel is over, although the sides remain far from resolving their differences, according to Bloomberg. In relevant news, three cargo-empty, US-sanctioned tankers reportedly slipped through the US naval blockade in recent days, according to TankerTrackers.com.
  • Israel said it carried out a Gaza strike targeting the de facto head of Hamas’s armed wing, while Israel also conducted an airstrike on the towns of Froun, Kfar Hounah and Zawtar al-Sharqiya in southern Lebanon. Furthermore, an Israeli air strike targeted Baalbek, Lebanon and killed an Islamic Jihad commander and his daughter.
  • UAE officials said a drone attack set off a fire near the UAE’s nuclear power station, while it was still investigating the source of the attack.
  • Saudi Defence Ministry said it intercepted three drones launched from Iraq after entering the kingdom’s airspace.

* * *

While a Pakistani-mediated ceasefire managed to take effect on April 8, subsequent talks in Islamabad completely collapsed, but then President Trump later extended the truce indefinitely, likely to buy time and to figure out “what’s next” – while seeking a complete blockade of Iranian oil exports, and of all vessels entering or exiting Iranian ports. Currently the sides are merely trying to get back to the table.

Tyler Durden
Mon, 05/18/2026 – 15:10