America First Policy Institute (AFPI) senior director of policy Hannah Anderson told Breitbart News Saturday that the Trump administration's anti-fraud efforts should be the administration's "biggest bipartisan win" except that Democrats have continued to attack the administration over cutting illegal aliens from Medicaid.

The post Exclusive — AFPI’s Hannah Anderson: Trump Anti-Fraud Efforts Should Be ‘Bipartisan Win’ but Democrats Still Attacking Admin over Cutting Illegal Aliens from Medicaid appeared first on Breitbart.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has yet to endorse a candidate in the Republican primary to succeed him—a silence that some GOP leaders say reflects his long-standing respect for Rep. Byron Donalds.

During a podcast appearance with Katie Miller last week, Donalds, R?Fla., revealed that DeSantis once considered him for a top leadership role in the state party.

“When Governor DeSantis was elected back in 2018, we had a conversation and he asked if I’d be interested in becoming state party chairman of Florida,” Donalds said.

Republican leaders in Florida told The Daily Signal that DeSantis’ past support for Donalds may explain why the outgoing governor has declined to take sides in a race that includes three of his closest allies.

Donalds is running for governor against DeSantis’ current lieutenant governor, Jay Collins, and former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner.

“If the governor thinks highly enough of Byron to ask him to lead the state party once he becomes governor, it’s obvious that it could foreshadow him not wanting to make an endorsement that would hurt Byron,” one Republican elected official in Florida told The Daily Signal.

Another Florida county Republican chairman echoed that sentiment, saying DeSantis appears reluctant to disrupt alliances inside the party.

“Look, it’s clear that he does not want to step on any toes,” the chairman said. “If DeSantis likes Byron and thinks the Trump-endorsed candidate will be the next governor, he might not want to make an endorsement that will not sit well with his current lieutenant governor.”

Others pointed to Donalds’ political rise since 2018 as evidence of why DeSantis once viewed him as leadership material.

That moment, Sweetwater Commissioner Ian Valecillo and Miami Young Republicans President Miguel Granda told The Daily Signal, shows Donalds was already being recognized at the state level.

“What’s notable is how much he’s grown since then,” Valecillo said. “He’s gone from a local race setback to becoming one of the most influential conservative voices in the country.”

Valecillo noted that Donalds ultimately could not take on the state party role because he did not win the Collier County Republican Party chairmanship at the time, but said the congressman proved he did not need a formal title to lead.

“He’s built his own credibility with voters, and today he’s in a far stronger position to shape the future of Florida’s Republican Party than he was back then,” Valecillo said.

Granda argued that Donalds represents a continuation of the DeSantis agenda.

“He isn’t just a successor—he’s a continuation of everything that has made Florida the blueprint for the rest of America,” he said.

“For eight years, Ron DeSantis has shown the rest of the country what bold, principled conservative leadership looks like, and Florida has thrived because of it,” Granda added. “This November, Florida has the opportunity to keep that momentum going by electing Congressman Byron Donalds as the next governor of the Sunshine State.”

The post Desantis’ Respect for Byron Donalds Could Be Why He Hasn’t Endorsed a Successor, GOP Leaders Say appeared first on The Daily Signal.

An Iranian-born immigrant who became a lawful permanent resident alien under the Obama administration was arrested and charged with brokering arms sales on behalf of the Iranian Government. According to Bill Essayli, the United States Attorney for the Central District of California, federal authorities arrested 44-year-old Shamim Mafi at Los Angeles International Airport on Saturday evening.

The post High Rolling Iranian Businesswoman Nabbed at Los Angeles Airport, Accused of Arms Trafficking appeared first on Breitbart.

A formal announcement is likely tomorrow; however, leading information now affirms Acting AG Todd Blanche is moving Joe DiGenova and Christopher-James DeLorenz into positions in South Florida to assist U.S. Attorney Jason Quiñones in ongoing investigation of the Donald Trump targeting.  The venue puts any grand jury information in the court orbit of Judge Aileen […]

The post AAG Todd Blanche Moves diGenova and DeLorenz to South Florida Group Assisting USAO Jason Reding Quiñones appeared first on The Last Refuge.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel highlighted the "incredible work" of the FBI's Los Angeles and San Diego divisions.

The post Kash Patel Highlights ‘Incredible Work’ of Los Angeles, San Diego FBI Divisions to ‘Protect the American People’ appeared first on Breitbart.

After performing well behind their human rivals only a year ago, an android smoked the entire field on Sunday in a Beijing half marathon and ran faster than any human in history.

The post WATCH: Chinese Robot Shatters Human Record in the Half Marathon appeared first on Breitbart.

Apparently the Trump administration was not kidding when it warned that no Iranian ships would be allowed through the blockade. Just a little while ago, Donald Trump announced that the U.S. Navy has blown an enormous hole in the side of an Iranian cargo vessel that willingly chose to ignore a warning to turn around. Just two days after the completely irrational euphoria that we witnessed on Friday, the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz is worse than ever, and there is no end in sight.

On Friday, I explained why the extremely positive headlines that we were reading in the western world were dead wrong. When the two week ceasefire with Iran was originally unveiled, the Iranians were supposed to completely open the Strait of Hormuz for that two week period. But they hesitated because fighting was still raging in Lebanon, and the Iranians believed that the fighting in Lebanon was supposed to be part of the ceasefire. When Israel and Hezbollah finally agreed to a ten day ceasefire late last week, the Iranians finally fulfilled their obligation by opening the Strait of Hormuz for the remainder of the ceasefire. But the Iranians also warned that if the U.S. did not respond by lifting the naval blockade for the rest of the ceasefire the Strait of Hormuz would be quickly closed once again, and that is precisely what happened.

Just hours after opening it, the IRGC shut down all traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and announced that any attempt to pass through would be “considered cooperation with the enemy, and the violating vessel will be targeted”…

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reportedly issued a sweeping warning to ships in the region on Saturday, saying any movement toward the Strait of Hormuz will be viewed as cooperation with “the enemy.”

“Following the violation of the ceasefire conditions, the American enemy did not lift the naval blockade of Iranian vessels and ports; therefore, from this afternoon, the Strait of Hormuz is closed until this blockade is lifted,” the IRGC said, according to Tehran-based WANA News Agency.

The IRGC also instructed vessels in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman to remain at anchor, warning that any ship approaching the strategic waterway “will be considered cooperation with the enemy, and the violating vessel will be targeted.”

Needless to say, the Iranians were not bluffing.

On Saturday, multiple commercial vessels were fired upon…

Gunfire was reported after at least two vessels tried to pass through the waterway on Saturday – with the captain of one tanker claiming his ship was approached by two Iranian gunboats.

US security sources claimed that Iran carried out at least three attacks on ships, Axios reports.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre confirmed a cargo vessel was attacked by a projectile near Oman – damaging containers on board.

The captain of an Indian oil tanker that was completely convinced that he had permission to go through the Strait was desperately asking for permission to turn around once the Iranians started shooting at his ship…

In the radio transmission, the captain of the Sanmar Herald oil tanker addresses ‘Sepah navy,’ which is the name of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy.

Clearly alarmed, he continues: ‘This is Motor Vessel Sanmar Herald. You gave me clearance to go! My name is second on your list.

‘You gave me clearance to go! You a firing now. Let me turn back!’

Marine tracking data shows the Sanmar got part of the way through the Strait before sharply doubling back on itself.

If the Trump administration would have just lifted the blockade for the duration of the ceasefire, a lot of tankers could have potentially gotten through the Strait, and that would have been a huge blessing to everyone.

But instead we are back to square one, and the Iranians are mocking us…

Ebrahim Azizi, the head of the Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, taunted Trump over the closure.

In a post on social media, he said: “We warned you, but you ignored it. Now ENJOY the Strait of Hormuz returning to the status quo.”

This is a very alarming turn of events.

A reporter for CBS News traveled to the Strait of Hormuz to see things for himself, and he encountered dozens of large commercial vessels just sitting still in the water…

We crossed from one Gulf country into another and eventually found ourselves on a coastal road that felt almost too beautiful for the tensions that lay just offshore.

On one side were jagged mountains rising straight out of the earth, completely bare of vegetation. On the other, clear blue water stretched out into the Gulf.

And then, as the road curved, we saw the ships. Not one or two, but dozens. Sitting still. Waiting.

Overall, there are more than 3,000 ships that are currently trapped in the Persian Gulf with no way out.

Of course the Iranians cannot get any ships out either now that a U.S. Navy blockade is in place.

On Sunday, one of our guided missile destroyers blew a giant hole in the side of an Iranian cargo ship named “TOUSKA”…

It took a while for that to sink in when I first came across that post by President Trump.

I could hardly believe what I had just read.

This is a major escalation.

And the U.S. is also threatening to seize Iranian vessels anywhere in the world during the days ahead…

The US military is preparing to board Iran-linked vessels and oil tankers in the coming days, a move that will expand a conflict largely confined to the Strait of Hormuz into a global crackdown.

General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, announced the escalation on Thursday, according to US officials who spoke with The Wall Street Journal.

Caine said the US ‘will actively pursue any Iranian-flagged vessel or any vessel attempting to provide material support to Iran’.

The Trump administration is convinced that this blockade is the key to ending the war.

They believe that the Iranians will be forced to give in eventually.

On the other side, the Iranians are convinced that holding the global economy hostage will force the Trump administration to give in.

Both sides are making tragic miscalculations, and meanwhile the entire world is suffering.

It is spring planting season, and we can’t get fertilizer from the Middle East into the hands of farmers all over the northern hemisphere that desperately need it…

Beginning in the 1960s, in an effort to diversify their economies, the Gulf countries invested heavily in their fertilizer industries, leveraging their abundant natural resources. Foreign fertilizer companies began flocking to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, drawn by low taxes, a favorable geographic location, and the city’s seamless air and sea transport hubs.

The Gulf’s investment in fertilizer paid off, as by 2026, much of the developing world was reliant on Gulf fertilizers. Three of the top ten global urea exporters, the world’s most commonly used nitrogen-based fertilizer, are located within the Persian Gulf. One-third of internationally traded fertilizers and roughly 45% of sulphur exports, a key ingredient in phosphate fertilizers, pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s blockade has brought all of these exports to a near-halt. The timing could hardly be worse, coming during planting season for much of the world.

In addition, nations such as India that normally import large amounts of natural gas from the Middle East in order to make their own fertilizer are being forced to cut back production…

The effects go well beyond halting shipments of fertilizer produced in the Gulf, which is situated at the head of a vast global supply chain. India, itself a big fertilizer producer, has had to scale back production due to fuel shortages linked to the war. New Delhi ordered fertilizer plants to scale back production to 70% capacity to cope with the shortage.

“This is not only an energy shock. It is a systematic shock affecting agrifood systems globally,” Chief Economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Máximo Torero, warned on Thursday.

We are facing a global fertilizer crisis that is far beyond anything that we have ever seen before.

Here in the United States, this has come at a time when we are already in the midst of a historic drought…

A massive drought has emerged across large swaths of the US agricultural belt, threatening crops and livestock and eventually affecting food prices, at a time when fertilizer and diesel costs are soaring. As of early April, 60% of the Lower 48 is in drought as the Northern Hemisphere growing season begins and farmers begin plantings, according to NOAA.

The southern US is already experiencing severe, extreme, and even exceptional drought conditions, putting pressure on key crops such as sugarcane, rice, and peanuts, while fruit trees have also been damaged by extreme temperatures.

Food production is going to be way down all over the planet in 2026.

José Andrés is warning that we are headed for “a very big increase in famine across the world by the fall of 2026 and 2027″…

The celebrity chef and humanitarian José Andrés has a warning for the suits in Washington and around the world: stop looking at the oil tickers and start looking at the soil.

The World Central Kitchen (WCK) founder believes that the world is sleepwalking into a massive, multi-year famine, being slow-walked by the “silent” collapse of the global fertilizer trade as a byproduct of the war with Iran.

“I foresee a very big increase in famine across the world by the fall of 2026 and 2027,” Andrés told the Guardian on the sidelines of Semafor’s global economy conference in Washington.

He is right.

If the Strait of Hormuz does not open soon, food shortages will hit the world like a freight train in 6 to 9 months.

But unless consequences are going to hit us immediately, most people in the western world don’t seem to care.

Instead, most of us just continue to go about our lives as if nothing unusual is going on, and for the moment ignorance is bliss.

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 U.S. Navy Just Blew A Giant Hole In An Iranian Cargo Ship As The Crisis In The Strait Of Hormuz Escalates To An Entirely New Level appeared first on The Economic Collapse.

WASHINGTON, April 19 (Reuters) – U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Sunday he believes gas prices have peaked but predicted that they may stay above $3 per gallon until next year.

Gas prices have risen during the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran and Iranian attacks on nearby countries, creating political headwinds for President Donald Trump ahead of the November midterm elections, where his Republican Party will defend slim majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives.

Gas below $3 a gallon “could happen later this year, that might not happen until next year. But prices have likely peaked, and they’ll start going down,” Wright told CNN’s “State of the Union” program. “Certainly with the resolution of this conflict, you’ll see prices go down.”

Trump administration officials have offered differing views on how gas prices may shift. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last week predicted gas prices would fall to the $3 per gallon range this summer, while Wright on Sunday laid out a lengthier likely timeline to reach that price.

Trump himself has said that gas prices may remain elevated until November. 

All of them have predicted gas prices will eventually get cheaper once the Iran war ends. “Under $3 a gallon is pretty tremendous in inflation-adjusted terms,” Wright said. “We’ll get back there for sure.”

The average price for a gallon of regular gas on Sunday was $4.05, according to an estimate by AAA, compared to $3.16 a year ago.

The war’s impact on oil delivery also has airlines warning of a potential jet fuel shortage. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Sunday said jet fuel will become more plentiful as the Iran conflict recedes.

“So yes, a small disruption, hopefully for a short period of time, but in the long run it becomes cheaper for Americans to travel because of decreased jet fuel prices,” Duffy said.

The U.S. and Iran on Thursday agreed to a 10-day ceasefire, but Trump on Sunday accused Iran of violating it with attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz this weekend. U.S. officials will arrive in Pakistan for further negotiations on Monday, Trump wrote in a social media post.  

“We’re offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran,” he posted, revisiting a threat he had made prior to the ceasefire. 

(Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington; additional reporting by Tim McLaughlin in Boston; Editing by Sergio Non and Bill Berkrot)

The post Energy Secretary: Gas Prices Could Stay Above $3 Per Gallon Until Next Year appeared first on The Daily Signal.