Iran Rejects Ceasefire In Formal Reply To US, As Israel Attacks Key Petrochemical Plants Summary:  A Sunday night Axios report on a US-proposed 45-day ceasefire has by Monday morning been rejected by Iran, which later on Monday issued a 10-point letter via Pakistan. Israel strikes large petrochemical plant at South Pars, which is responsible for half of the country’s petrochemical production. There’s been another […]

Artemis II Astronauts Set For Historic Lunar Flyby: What To Know Authored by T.J.Muscaro via The Epoch Times, Astronauts are back in lunar space for the first time in more than 50 years. Artemis II’s Orion spacecraft, Integrity, crossed into the Moon’s gravitational influence at approximately 12:41 a.m. ET on April 6, officially making NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, as well as the Canadian Space […]

The 28th Amendment: Is It Time For A New Amendment On The Meaning Of Citizenship? Authored by Jonathan Turley, “Well, it’s a new world. It’s the same Constitution.” Those words from Chief Justice John Roberts during this week’s oral arguments signaled that the conservative justices are unlikely to reject birthright citizenship. Of course, nothing is certain until this summer when the Court issues its opinion in Trump […]

Prices Jump, Employment Dumps As US ISM Services Disappoints In March The last six months or so has seen S&P Global’s and ISM’s Services PMI surveys diverge dramatically (former at three year lows, latter near four year highs). But, following S&P Global’s Services PMI plunge into contraction in March, ISM’s Services PMI actually ‘agreed’ and fell also (but only modestly) from 56.1 to 54.0 (still in expansion but worse than […]

Stockman Warns This Is Not Your Grandfather’s Stagflation Authored by David Stockman via The Brownstone Institute, It was pretty obvious even before February 28th that the US economy was grinding to a halt, even as inflation was already working up a head of steam. But then came war.  We are going to get a globe-shaking economic conflagration erupting from the void that was the Persian Gulf commodity fountain. That includes […]

Key Events This Week: CPI, PCE, Durable, FOMC Minutes And More In addition to Iran war developments, this week’s economic calendar will focus on the inflation side of the Fed’s dual mandate following a solid March employment report. The key data releases this week are the February durable goods report on Tuesday, the February PCE report on Thursday, and the March CPI report on Friday. Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson will […]

US Satellite Firm ‘Indefinitely Withholds’ Iran War Images Per Government Request Authored by Alan Mosley via AntiWar.com, Planet Labs says it will “indefinitely withhold” satellite visuals of Iran and the wider Middle East war zone after a request from the US government and the Trump administration. In an email to customers, the firm said it is shifting to a “managed distribution” model, releasing imagery only case-by-case for […]

Trump Admin Appeals Order Halting White House Ballroom Construction, Citing Security Concerns Authored by Ryan Morgan via The Epoch Times, The Trump administration on April 3 appealed a judge’s order to halt construction on a new White House ballroom, elevating security concerns associated with the project. On March 31, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon issued an order declaring the president lacked the authority to order the […]

“We Must Be Clear-Eyed”: Harris Calls To Oppose New SCOTUS Nominees “Before They Happen” Authored by Jonathan Turley, Former Vice President Kamala Harris is rallying Democratic donors to oppose  “additional justices” that might be nominated by President Donald Trump “before they happen.” Harris is heralding the fundraising by Josh Orton, president of the dark-money group “Demand Justice” (made infamous for its […]

Futures Rise, Oil Drops On Report Of Ceasefire Push US stock futures rose, but were off session highs (and lows) and crude oil dipped as the bipolar market focused its attention on a report of a push to secure a potential ceasefire in the war in Iran, following a reversal in those exact same hopes late last week. As of 8:00am ET S&P 500 futures added 0.1% in light trading after the Easter holiday, reversing an earlier loss […]

Hormuz Sees 15 Ships Transit In 24 Hours As Two Tankers With Qatari LNG Make Sudden U-Turn President Trump on Sunday warned Tehran to “Open the Strait” and make a deal by the end of Tuesday, or the U.S. military would “blow everything up” and “take over the oil.” Meanwhile, Iran rejected Trump’s ultimatum to reopen the Hormuz chokepoint, saying it would only reopen the critical waterway once damage from the war is compensated. […]

JPM’s Dimon Warns Of “Skunk At Party,” Talks Credit Cycles, Touts U.S. Military Power JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon began his annual shareholder letter on Monday by tying the bank’s legacy to the nation’s history: “In 2026, America is celebrating its 250th anniversary. This year, we are also celebrating the 227th anniversary of JPMorgan Chase, which was founded in April 1799.” Quick Summary  Dimon used his annual letter to tout […]

Slower EV Sales Will Be The “New Normal” For Tesla Amidst AI, Robotics Push Tesla Inc. is increasingly betting its future on AI, autonomy and robotics — but it still depends on selling cars to finance that shift, and that core business is under pressure, Bloomberg reported this week.  Wall Street estimates point to roughly 372,160 vehicle deliveries last quarter. That would mark an 11% increase from a weak year-ago period, yet […]

EU Parliament Shocks Brussels: Chat Surveillance Rejected, Deportation Centers Approved Submitted by Thomas Kolbe Brussels’ assault on industry and small-to-medium businesses is a child of German ideology. This applies not only to the absurd climate battle; German statism also reveals itself in the proposed spying system of EU-wide chat surveillance. The open-border policies, executed in the style of a hippie state, can be […]

‘New Iranian Terror Group’ Claims Responsibility For Attacks Across Europe A group that did not exist online or anywhere else before March 9, 2026, has suddenly claimed responsibility for a string of low-tech arson and attempted bombings at synagogues and US banks across Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and the UK. Police in Paris at the scene of the thwarted attack on the offices of Bank of America © Nathan Laine/Bloomberg […]

Europe’s Looming Jet Fuel Crisis: Hormuz, Policy Failure, And A Self-Inflicted Supply Shock Submitted by Thomas Kolbe Politics has established a new routine. Right at 12 noon, prices at German gas stations now rise day after day. The government’s pricing decree, a hastily assembled mechanism, acts like an accelerant in an already dramatically strained fuel supply situation. Anyone with rudimentary economic understanding […]

‘Open The F**kin’ Strait’: Trump Threatens To ‘Blow Everything Up’ If No Iran Deal By Tuesday Summary:  Trump offers Iranian negotiators amnesty, threatens to ‘blow everything up’ if no deal IEA Head warns Asia (implying Beijing) is panic hoarding fuel Trump warns Iran ‘Open the Fuckin’ Strait’ or “you’ll be living in hell’ Trump Talks With Fox Reporter About US-Iran Negotiations  Shortly after President Trump […]

Countries Losing Trust In The US Global perceptions of the United States are shifting. Data from the Munich Security Conference shows a clear decline in trust across advanced and emerging economies. This visualization, created by Visual Capitalist’s Julia Wendling, in partnership with Inigo, provides visual context to these shifting perceptions and highlights where sentiment is changing fastest. These shifts reflect a broader […]

Did This Small Device Help Special Forces Locate Downed F-15 Crew The New York Times confirmed that U.S. Special Forces operators were behind the recovery of the second crew member from the downed F-15E fighter jet, locating and extracting the weapons systems officer in a daring overnight mission deep inside Iranian territory. Confirmed presence of Seal Team 6 in pilot rescue op moved the “US forces entering Iran” market to 100%. […]

NATO Was A Big Loser In The Iran War Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), NATO members are not legally required to join any member’s military operations that are not formally sanctioned by the alliance or not aimed at protecting the homelands of the membership. But they often do just that. President Donald Trump speaks from the Cross Hall of the White House in Washington on April 1, 2026. Alex […]

Long-Term Social Media Use Linked to Depression, Self-Harm in Young People: Study Authored by Jerry Zhu via The Epoch Times, An Australian-led study has found children and teenagers who spend more time on social media are more likely to experience depression, self-harm, substance use, and lower achievement later in life. Published in JAMA Pediatrics, the systematic review examined data from 153 studies consisting of over 350,000 […]

These Are America’s Biggest Christian Groups The Catholic Church is America’s largest Christian group – but it doesn’t have the most churches. Drawing on data from the U.S. Religion Census, compiled by Julie Peasley via Visual Capitalist, this visualization compares the country’s biggest Christian denominations by two measures: adherents and congregations. The comparison highlights a key divide in how these groups are […]

California Bans Government Officials From Using Insider Knowledge To Bet On Prediction Markets Authored by Dylan Morgan via The Epoch Times, California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday issued an executive order banning state officials from using insider knowledge to profit, or assist another person in profiting, on prediction markets, effective immediately. The governor’s office said there have been mounting reports of individuals […]

SEC Case Against Musk Over Twitter Stake Heads to Trial Elon Musk and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission are no longer pursuing a quick settlement and instead appear headed for a courtroom fight over Musk’s 2022 takeover of Twitter, according to Bloomberg. In a status update filed Wednesday, both sides said they had explored possible resolutions but ultimately agreed the case isn’t suited for mediation. “The parties […]

Diesel Surges Above $8 In San Fran As Gulf Shock Exposes California’s Disastrous Policies The Gulf energy shock is exposing the consequences of California’s economic mismanagement under the state’s one-party rule of Democratic kings and queens. Years of failed “green” policies, regulatory overreach, high taxes, endless environmental mandates, and heavy reliance on Asian refineries have transformed California into an energy […]