President Donald Trump said the visit of King Charles III smoothed over U.S. relations with the United Kingdom amid tension over Iran.

Trump has criticized U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer for declining to help the United States with its military operation in Iran. The president has said the U.K. “should be our best ally” and mocked Starmer for saying he had to ask his team before sending aircraft carriers to the region.

The Daily Signal asked the president on Wednesday if the visit with the king improved relations.

“When you like the king of a country so much, it probably helps your relationship with the prime minister,” Trump said in response to a question from The Daily Signal.

“My visit with the king really was just, it was extraordinary,” he said. “I mean, he’s an extraordinary man. He’s an extraordinary person.”

Trump criticized Starmer for only being willing to send aid after the war is won.

“But you know that case, the prime minister, I said, you want to send a little help? He said, no, we’ll send it after you win the war. I said, That’s not good. That’s not good.”

Trump hosted Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla, to kick off their four-day state visit to the U.S.

The king addressed a joint session of Congress Tuesday, highlighting the “special relationship” of the two countries, and touting the need for NATO, following Trump’s repeated criticism of the alliance.

“Today, our partnerships in NATO and AUKUS deepen our technological and military cooperation and ensure that together we can meet the challenges of an increasingly complex and contested world,” Charles said.

Charles and Camilla commemorated victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York City on Wednesday, laying a floral bouquet at the memorial where the World Trade Center’s twin towers once stood. The king also spoke with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani at the ceremony.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Acting AG Todd Blanche presided over the signing of a “landmark rulemaking package” that rolls back numerous gun regulations enacted under Biden.

The post ATF Director Robert Cekada Takes Jackhammer to Biden-Era Gun Regs appeared first on Breitbart.

A report from Axios on Sunday claimed Israel deployed its famed Iron Dome defense system to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) early in Operation Epic Fury, and the system was able to intercept many of the missiles and drones Iran launched at its neighbor.

The post Report: Israel Used Iron Dome to Protect United Arab Emirates from Iranian Attacks appeared first on Breitbart.

The Constitution prohibits sorting citizens based on race. And yet, for far too long, lower federal courts had interpreted Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act to require states to do just that—particularly when it came to drawing legislative districts.

This put states between a rock and a hard place: They either had to comply with the courts’ misinterpretation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act or violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

This long-percolating dispute came to a head when a lower federal court required Louisiana to draw a second majority-minority congressional district based on that court’s misinterpretation of the Voting Rights Act. But after Louisiana complied, a different three-judge district court found that Louisiana violated the Constitution by doing so.

Left with no choice, Louisiana came to the Supreme Court last year to resolve the dispute.

But the court didn’t do it. Instead, it took the unusual step of resetting the case for oral argument again this term. And today, in a 6-3 opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito, the Supreme Court confirmed what we already knew: Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, when properly interpreted, cannot compel states to violate the Constitution, and those lower federal court decisions purporting to require states to draw legislative districts based on race were wrong.

Alito explained that “Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act … was designed to enforce the Constitution—not collide with it.” He further expounded that Section 2 “imposes liability only when the evidence supports a strong inference that the State intentionally drew its districts to afford minority voters less opportunity because of their race.”

To determine whether a Section 2 violation has occurred, courts have used a framework set forth in the 1986 Thornburg v. Gingles case. But as Alito pointed out, “Gingles was decided at a time when this Court often paid insufficient attention to the language of statutory provisions,” and it followed that pattern.

Alito made clear that the Gingles framework doesn’t need to be abandoned, but instead the court “need only update the framework so it aligns with the statutory text and reflects important developments since [the court] decided Gingles 40 years ago.”

Of particular note, he said that the “totality of circumstances” inquiry “must focus on evidence that has more than a remote bearing on what the Fifteenth Amendment prohibits: present-day intentional racial discrimination regarding voting.” He explained that if, as a result of the progress our nation has made in overcoming past racial discrimination, “it is hard to find pertinent evidence relating to intentional present-day voting discrimination, that is cause for celebration.”

Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Justice Neil Gorsuch, wrote separately and would have gone further, saying that Section 2 “does not regulate districting at all.”

And Justice Elena Kagan, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, wrote a sky-is-falling dissent. But as Alito succinctly pointed out, Kagan’s dissent “is unabashedly at war with key precedents … [and that] Respect for precedent cannot be a one-way street.”

Given the court’s decision, states that have drawn legislative districts based on race, relying on lower federal courts’ misinterpretation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, will now likely have to go back to the drawing board, which could have big implications for the upcoming midterm elections and beyond.

Fundamentally, though, today’s decision is a reaffirmation that there is no such thing as good discrimination because, as Thomas has previously said, “every time the government places citizens on racial registers and makes race relevant to the provision of burdens or benefits, it demeans us all.”

How much truer is that when it comes to deciding how we select our elected representatives.

Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Dr. Mehmet Oz announced this week the launch of a nationwide audit of Medicaid providers ahead of their revalidation.

The move marks the latest effort by President Donald Trump’s administration to crack down on waste, fraud, and abuse in federal programs, and it’s being welcomed by state auditors, fraud experts, and congressional leaders.

“This is a great initiative from the Trump administration, and every single state should comply. Medicaid fraud is happening across the country,” Mississippi State Auditor Shad White told The Daily Signal.

“Even in smaller red states, like here in Mississippi, my office has found Medicaid payments going to dead people, rich people, and illegal immigrants—tens of millions of Medicaid dollars going to people who shouldn’t even be on the program.”

On Monday, White announced that his office uncovered at least $10.5 million in taxpayer dollars administered by Medicaid providers to illegal aliens in the state.

“There’s no doubt this is happening nationwide,” White added. “The Trump administration is making sure that only American citizens who qualify for the program actually get the benefits. If states can’t control their Medicaid programs, I think the Trump administration could stop payments to the states and return the savings to hardworking taxpayers via tax cuts.”

OJ Oleka, CEO of the State Financial Officers Foundation, a nonprofit focused on uncovering taxpayer fraud, told The Daily Signal that White’s findings are “not [an] isolated” incident.

“In our 2025 Oversight Report, state financial officers documented protecting more than $28 billion in taxpayer funds,” Oleka said. “Nearly $6 billion of that involved waste, fraud, and abuse, with a significant portion coming directly from Medicaid programs.”

Oleka also pointed to Kentucky Auditor Allison Ball’s discovery of “nearly $1 billion in improper Medicaid payments in a single review,” citing eligibility failures, overpayments, and coding abuses.

Some members of Congress, however, expressed concern to The Daily Signal that certain states will comply with the Trump administration’s audit, while others may resist out of fear of being held accountable for their failure to protect Americans’ tax dollars.

“Gavin Newsom, like other Democrat governors, has overseen what appears to be billions of dollars of fraud in California, while he and other leaders in his state have not been held accountable,” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told The Daily Signal. “As a governor, you’re responsible for preventing fraud and rebuilding trust following a failure. I was governor of Florida—I know the stakes.”

“When you’re trusted with the American people’s money, you need to account for every red cent. Newsom should face the music for his failures,” Scott added.

California has recently come under scrutiny over alleged efforts to cover up widespread Medicaid and hospice fraud, including legislation that would prevent independent journalists from investigating potential abuse—such as reporting by Nick Shirley in Minnesota.

The bill has been dubbed as the Stop Nick Shirley Act by critics.

“The rampant fraud in Minneapolis was just the tip of the iceberg, which is exactly why Americans deserve a nationwide audit of Medicaid,” Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., told The Daily Signal. “I expect blue states will fight critical oversight efforts aimed at protecting the American people’s hard‑earned tax dollars and uncovering the Democrat Party’s corruption at every turn.”

Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., echoed Clyde’s remarks and told The Daily Signal that “every state should be put under the microscope and held fully accountable.”

“Just last month right here in North Carolina, fraudsters operating a fake substance abuse facility were sentenced to more than 14 years in prison for a $12.7 million Medicaid fraud scheme that preyed on drug-addicted patients,” Harris added. “These massive schemes are not limited to Minnesota—they expose a systemic failure that has lasted far too long.”

Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, said such “crimes” amount to schemes that “rob vulnerable patients of the care and services on which they depend.”

“We have seen firsthand in Maryland why cracking down on waste, fraud, and abuse matters, including a $3.6 million Medicaid fraud scheme in Baltimore County,” Harris said in a statement to The Daily Signal. “Every dollar lost to fraud is a dollar diverted from children, seniors, and individuals with disabilities who rely on Medicaid’s critical services. Dr. Oz is right to demand stronger oversight to protect patients and taxpayers alike.”

Despite skepticism from some lawmakers over potential state resistance, Clyde said he remains confident the Trump administration “will expose and prosecute fraudsters—delivering much‑needed accountability to the American people.”

“I expect to hear the click of handcuffs as the audit ends,” Clyde added.

The Federal Reserve is reported to be historically apolitical, meaning all considerations are absent of politics.  However, no individual Federal Reserve Chairman has been more overtly political than Jerome Powell. Today, after announcing yet again the Fed will not lower interest rates, Chairman Jerome Powell announced he will not leave the board of the federal […]

The post Consciousness of Guilt – Fed Chairman Powell Refuses to Leave Fed Board After Term Expires, “I will leave when I think it’s appropriate to do so” appeared first on The Last Refuge.

UNITED STATES — After seeing Ben Sasse's incredible faith in God and upstanding moral character, the nation now understands why the former senator had to leave politics behind.

Over 300 people marched against mass migration and undocumented immigrants in Pretoria, South Africa, on Tuesday.

The post Hundreds March Against Mass Migration in Pretoria, South Africa appeared first on Breitbart.

Every single day that the Strait of Hormuz is closed, the damage that is being done to the global economy is getting even worse. But the full consequences of the global oil crisis that we are facing will not be felt for a while because nations all over the globe are still running through their strategic oil reserves. And the full consequences of the global fertilizer crisis that we are facing will not be felt until harvest season. So don’t judge the severity of this emergency by what we are experiencing at this moment, because the truth is that what we are experiencing at this moment is just the very small tip of a very large iceberg.

This week, it appears that more people out there are starting to understand that the Strait of Hormuz is not going to be reopened any time soon.

On Wednesday, President Trump explained that he is not going to lift the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports until Iran agrees to give up their nuclear program…

US President Donald Trump told Axios that he would keep Iran under a naval blockade until Tehran agreed to a deal addressing US concerns over its nuclear program.

“The blockade is somewhat more effective than the bombing,” Trump was quoted as saying. “They are choking like a stuffed pig. And it is going to be worse for them. They can’t have a nuclear weapon.”

Trump said Iran wanted a deal to lift the blockade, but added he did not want to do so unless Tehran was prevented from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

“They want to settle. They don’t want me to keep the blockade. I don’t want to [lift the blockade], because I don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon,” he said.

But Iran is not going to give up their nuclear program.

In fact, a member of Iran’s Supreme Council of Experts has stated that it is “forbidden to hold any negotiation on the right to enrich uranium”…

Ahmad Kaveibi, member of Iran’s Supreme Council of Experts:

“It is forbidden to hold any negotiation on the right to enrich uranium. This issue falls outside the negotiation’s framework. This contradicts the position of the Supreme Leader and is forbidden from a jurisprudential standpoint.”

Over and over again, Iran has steadfastly refused to even negotiate about their “right” to enrich uranium.

But Trump seems to be convinced that if he just puts enough pressure on the Iranians they will eventually change their minds.

We shall see.

The Iranians know that midterm elections are looming in the United States, and so the clock is ticking for Trump.

If the Democrats take control of both houses of Congress, they would likely force Trump to end the blockade and leave Iran alone.

So from an Iranian point of view, all they have to do is hold out until the end of the year and they win.

Meanwhile, the global economy just continues to suffer.

Even if the Strait of Hormuz reopened tomorrow, it would still take up to 6 months to fully clear all of the mines that have been laid…

It could take six months to fully clear the Strait of Hormuz of mines deployed by the Iranian military, and any such operation is unlikely to be carried out until the U.S. war with Iran ends, the Pentagon has informed Congress — an assessment that means the conflict’s economic impact could extend late into this year or beyond.

A senior Defense Department official shared the estimate, which has not been previously reported, during a classified briefing Tuesday for members of the House Armed Services Committee, said three officials familiar with the discussion. The timeline — met with frustration by Democrats and Republicans alike, two of these people said — is perhaps the clearest sign that gasoline and oil prices could remain elevated long after any peace deal is reached.

And it isn’t just a matter of restoring the flow of traffic through the Strait.

Oil production in the Persian Gulf region is down 57 percent from pre-war levels.

Thanks to damage that has already been done during this war, it will literally take years for production to return to 100 percent.

The head of the International Energy Agency is warning that we are facing “the greatest energy security crisis in history”…

Fatih Birol, chief executive of the International Energy Agency, has called the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz “the greatest energy security crisis in history”, insisting it is “more serious” than the previous energy shocks in 1973 (when some Arab states imposed an oil embargo on the West), 1979 (caused by the Iranian revolution) and 2022 (Ukraine) “put together”.

In a book that I authored during the early part of 2025, I discussed the fact that a great conflict in the Middle East would cause oil prices to rise dramatically.

And that is precisely what has occurred.

On Wednesday, oil prices rose to the highest levels that we have seen during this war so far…

Oil prices jumped more than 6% on Wednesday, after President Donald Trump said he will maintain the U.S. naval blockade against Iran until they agreed to a nuclear deal.

International benchmark Brent crude futures rose more than 6% to $118.33 per barrel by 12:10 p.m. ET, U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures also advanced more than 6% to $106.37 per barrel.

If the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, this will only be just the beginning.

A lot of people are freaking out because the average price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States is now well above 4 dollars a gallon…

U.S. gas prices have hit a fresh record since the start of the war with Iran, rising to an average nationwide of $4.23 per gallon Wednesday, according to the motor club AAA.

The grim milestone comes as oil prices have surged higher over the past week amid a dual blockade by the U.S. and Iran of the Strait of Hormuz, the key chokepoint in the region for transiting crude and petroleum-based products out of the Persian Gulf.

If people are freaking out now, what will they do when the price of gasoline goes much higher?

Meanwhile, we are also facing the worst global fertilizer crisis in history by a very wide margin…

More than half of the Middle East’s urea output may have been lost since the start of the Iran conflict, which is continuing to disrupt fertilizer flows from the region and threatening global food inflation.

The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has choked shipments of urea, a key component in nitrogen fertilizers, leaving large volumes stranded in the Gulf and tightening supplies for farmers around the world. At the same time, Iranian drone attacks on nations including Qatar and Bahrain have damaged energy and industrial infrastructure, hindering production of the chemical itself.

That has forced urea manufacturers in the region to curb operations, with 55% to 60% of output potentially halted, according to consultancy CRU Group.

Without sufficient supplies of nitrogen fertilizer, we can’t even come close to growing enough food to feed everyone on this planet.

In other words, we really are facing a scenario in which large numbers of people in impoverished nations could end up starving.

At the same time, U.S. wheat farmers are facing the worst drought in the heartland of America since the Dust Bowl days of the 1930s…

U.S. wheat futures rallied to the highest in nearly two years Tuesday, as drought in U.S. Plains wheat fields pressures yields while soaring fertilizer costs have caused farmers to trim planting of nutrient-intensive crops such as grains.

CBOT wheat futures surged after the latest Crop Progress report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture said only 30% of the winter wheat crop is in good or excellent condition as of April 26.

The amount of winter wheat that gets harvested this year is going to be very disappointing.

Looking ahead, it is being projected that the number of acres of wheat that U.S. farmers are planting in the spring will be the fewest “since record keeping began in 1919”…

U.S. growers were poised to plant the fewest acres of wheat since record keeping began in 1919, as high costs for fertilizer, seeds, and equipment have made it difficult to turn a profit.

Yes, this is really happening.

If you think that the price of cookies is high now, you should brace yourself, because you haven’t seen anything yet.

In some areas of the country, conditions are so exceedingly dry that it just doesn’t make sense for farmers to try to grow anything.

Dane Wigington is warning that we are heading into a “summer from hell”…

What is going to happen when summer starts? Wigington says, “This is the summer from Hell that we are approaching right now. This will be like no other. The snow pack in the Colorado River watershed is almost nonexistent. The snowpack in the Sierra Nevada averages about 20%. In the Northern Sierra, it is about 5%. That’s 5% of normal. Why isn’t that headline everywhere? People have no idea what is coming. . .. What will happen in the Southwest? We are going to find out soon. Right now, they are frantically discussing desalination facilities in the Gulf of California. . .. That is idiocy and not going to save anything. It can’t be done in any time frame that matters.”

This isn’t a coincidence.

Most of my regular readers already understand this.

If you look at the latest U.S. Drought Monitor map, it looks like a horror show.

There is no easy way out of this.

It will take some time for the full consequences of this nightmare to arrive, but when they do our society will experience immense pain.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.  He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

The post The Global Oil Crisis Just Escalated To A New Level And U.S. Farmers Are Planting The Fewest Acres Of Wheat Since Records Began In 1919 appeared first on The Economic Collapse.

Jokes that implicitly call for violence aren’t calling for violence, to hear Jake Tapper tell it. At least, not if they’re told by Jimmy Kimmel. If they’re told about Jimmy […]

The post Flashback: Jake Tapper Defends Kimmel's 'Jokes,' but Melted Down When Aaron Rodgers Linked ABC Host to Epstein appeared first on The Western Journal.