Excellent overview of Iran's Islands in the Strait of Hormuz with detailed maps. Gift link: www.wsj.com/world/middle...

Is the Strait of Hormuz closed? Nope. It's being sorted. Iranian ships clear it with no problem. States at war with Iran and their allies are barred. And for others, it's simple: pay the toll and pass.

This is sufficient already to predicate a criminal investigation focusing on the DHS agents who released Nurul Amin Shah Alam under circumstances and in a manner constituting depraved indifference. It will test the again the Trump administration's impunity presumptions.

Sometimes correlation is causation

Hernández, La Jornada (CDMX)

Rape, Milenio (CDMX)

Jerge, La Jornada (CDMX)

Joh Marshall: It was a rambling set of unconvincing excuses no one with any real concern or anxiety about this war (the only real audience) would find convincing. Why are you complaining, he asks? Trump Mini-Speech: the Definitive Reax talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/trump...

4⃣Financial stress increasing: Investors are pulling back from developing countries, weakening currencies and raising borrowing costs. 5⃣High vulnerability: 4 billion people live in countries already spending more on debt than on health or education. unctad.org/news/hormuz-...

2⃣Trade losing momentum: Global merchandise trade is expected to slow sharply, from about 4.7% growth in 2025 to 1.5–2.5% in 2026. 3⃣Inflation pressures rising: Energy shocks are pushing up prices and increasing the cost of living.

Hormuz disruption deepens global economic strain across trade, prices and finance Latest @UNCTAD report on Hormuz 1⃣Energy corridor halted: The Strait of Hormuz remains “practically closed,” disrupting a critical share of global oil and gas flows. unctad.org/news/hormuz-...

As Julia Davis notes, as of today, Trump has fulfilled all the major predictions made by Kremlin TV about what Trump would do in his first year in office. Russian media understood far better than US media what Trump was up to.

GORSUCH: Do you think Native Americans are birthright citizens under your test? SAUER: Ah, I think ... so. I have to think that through.

Today at 1:10pm ET A conversation, with three great experts, about the stress test that federal courts are facing. Looking back at the year+ of concerns raised by federal judges of Executive Branch/DOJ claims before the courts. And what may happen next.

Just wait until these eyesore monstrosities want to come to your neighborhood. Goodbye trees. Expect to hear a constant, electrical humming, warmer temperatures and higher energy bills. Fight like hell to keep data centers out of your area.

Egger: So far, it appears Trump sees his strait problem as primarily a political one, which can be solved by simply finding the right people to blame. He does not see the economic calamity bearing down on us... Liberation Day Brought Us Here open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

...more “legalistic noncompliance,” the process by which the government contorts the language of the law to conceal the reality that it is ignoring the law altogether. Hearing Dispatch: A Catch-22 for the Pentagon Press Corps www.lawfaremedia.org/article/hear...

Under Hegseth, the military starts to engage in what can only be called brazen disinformation about one of its strikes that was clearly a war crime. bsky.app/profile/rgoo...

The Horton-Kaiser Report Apr 1, 2026 The News You Need Today • Israeli Extremists: Hang The Palestinians • A Nearly Unanimous SCOTUS Strikes A Blow for Pseudoscience • Kristi & Byron Noem Present Ultimate in GOP Family Values • Pete Hegseth, War Profiteer • Is Orbán Really Putin’s Sock Puppet?

NEWS: Judge Amit Mehta rules Trump is NOT immune for key Jan. 6 conduct—including his Ellipse rally speech, outreach to officials, and related actions—finding they can be treated as campaign activity, not presidential duties. 1/

Italy has refused permission for US military aircraft to land at a Sicilian air base en route to the Middle East, reports Corriere della Sera. The exact number of aircraft involved and the specific timing of Rome's refusal remain undisclosed. roma.corriere.it/notizie/poli...

Corriere indicates that the refusal stems from the US failing to seek prior authorization and neglecting to consult Italy's military leadership, all as required under the existing Status of Forces Agreement between the US and Italy which governs the American military installations in the country.

Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal Constitution

Tuesday is not over: A federal judge ruled that the Trump had illegally demanded that groups seeking homelessness grants comply with its agenda on immigration , transgender rights Trump Administration Acted Illegally With Homeless Grants Program, Judge Rules www.nytimes.com/2026/03/31/u...

Laura Belin explains how the Iowa legislature has taken steps make it harder for candidates to get onto primary ballots: www.bleedingheartland.com/2026/03/31/f...

Sailing out of the Persian Gulf via the Iranian Toll Booth 1⃣Strait of Hormuz Update 31 March 2026 2⃣Where Are all the President's Tankers? 3⃣Sailing on MT Zea via @NewsNation Video: youtu.be/Y-DONyuir9I

Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert James Ritchie, posted two videos on social media Saturday showing himself saluting and fist-pumping as the aircraft flew up to his home in Tennessee, which he refers to as the Southern White House. gift link: www.wsj.com/us-news/army...

Rural areas are losing local papers: “They lose civic engagement and a watchdog over local government,” she said. “It’s also the identity and cohesion of the community. All of that is at risk when you no longer have a trusted news source.” www.iowapublicradio.org/ipr-news/202...

They cite Privacy Act violations, First Amendment retaliation, and DOJ election rules — and gave Patel 3 days to stand down or face a federal lawsuit. Read more: www.meidasplus.com/p/breaking-s...

Trump is already melting down about a federal judge blocking his ballroom project

Busy Tuesday, cont: First Amendment! Judge Moss wrote Tuesday, [Trump] “may not, however, use his governmental power to direct federal agencies to exclude Plaintiffs from receiving federal grants or other funding in retaliation for saying things that he does not like.” www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Paul Krugman: The oil crisis is about to get physical. The map at the top of this post shows JP Morgan’s estimates of when tankers from the Gulf will stop arriving at various destinations. Deliveries to Asian markets will end this week; deliveries to Europe will end next week. Then there will no

longer be room for jawboning the markets. Since the war began there have been several occasions on which Trump has been able to talk prices down by asserting that meaningful negotiations are underway with his invisible friends the Iranian regime, but that won’t work once the oil runs out.

Pam Bondi's DOJ "quietly closed more than 23,000 criminal cases in the first six months of Trump’s administration, abandoning hundreds of investigations into terrorism, white-collar crime, drugs and other offenses as it shifted resources to pursue immigration cases."

Busy Tuesday: Judge Richare Leon, a George W. Bush appointee, ordered construction stopped unless and until Congress blesses the $400 million project, which is being funded with private donations funneled through the National Park Service. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Judge J. Campbell Barker ruled that he lacked the authority to consider an agreement that would have effectively created an exception to the so-called Johnson Amendment, a law that bars political endorsements and other political activity by charities and churches. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

The tanker’s arrival has also exposed the snags in the Trump administration’s emerging plans to erode the state’s grip on what remains of Cuba’s economy by steering fuel and other commercial lifelines to the island’s small private sector. www.wsj.com/world/a-russ...

Richard Brody: Since 2012, only one country has won the Oscar for Best International Feature twice: Iran. ... the more of Haghighi's work I’ve watched, the more convinced I am that he is one of the world’s most interesting and most woefully underrated filmmakers. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

“Christian thinkers have always insisted that princes and generals approach war with a sense of grave responsibility. Hegseth, however, sees war as just another opportunity to display depravity as if it were a martial virtue,” @radiofreetom.bsky.social argues. theatln.tc/OGI0SjpH

We would prefer not to know what's wrong when our state leads the nation in cancer. When the data suggests riveres are polluted with nitrate, which causes cancer, the legislature cuts off the funds for monitoring rivers. No data, no problem... A state of denial www.stormlake.com/stories/a-st...

Hertling: "What is the objective? What is the end state? And how much military force does it take to achieve it? In war, you do not start with forces; you start with what you are trying to accomplish." Ground Forces in Iran—for What? open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

"All in all, it seems more likely than not that Trump plans on walking away rather than escalating. I think this would be a less bad outcome than introducing ground troops. But it will still be a bad outcome for the United States and the world." open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

A Trump administration proposal to get private equity into Americans’ retirement plans is stronger and further-reaching than all but a few optimists on Wall Street had hoped But will bit e enough to persuade savers and sponsors to take the plunge into alternative assets. www.wsj.com/articles/tru...

The company, which says it has signed a paid pilot agreement with one of the so-called Class 1 railroads, will use the money to gear up for a real-world test of its technology just as conflict in the Middle East sends diesel prices soaring. www.wsj.com/articles/vol...

Pete Hegseth's bloodlust and sadism are rooted in his far-right theology: Christian Reconstructionism. On the pod, @sarahposner.bsky.social explains all this so well, tying it to Trump's latest threats of war crimes and the Pope's rebuke of Hegseth, all in one chat: newrepublic.com/article/2083...

What could possibly go wrong? gift link: wapo.st/4v0T9sT

this extreme effort smells like desperation-- and danger www.wsj.com/politics/the...

Not Farage Oil Since 2019, Spain has doubled its wind and solar capacity, adding over 40 GW - more than any other EU country except Germany, whose power market is twice the size of Spain’s. www.euronews.com/2026/03/11/s...

Reactivations and mega expansions signal long-term China shipbuilding hegemony splash247.com?p=236764

Addressing what federal policy does not? It's not bad for business: "JPMorgan hasn’t been slowed, bringing in more profit than any bank in U.S. history. But it reaches across Main Street and Wall Street and does better when the whole economy is chugging along. " www.wsj.com/finance/bank...