Now that Trump has led warfare in the Middle East, voices on the left are sensing a rare opportunity to reorient American foreign policy around a working-class worldview. “The party has to stand for something bigger than ‘not Trump’ & a foreign policy that demands accountability.”

US fertility rate drops to all-time low, continuing a two-decade decline The US fertility rate has now been in decline for two decades, dropping nearly 23% since 2007. If you have to ask why? Just look around. www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/...

Only whites allowed in Trump's 'Murikka www.bbc.com/news/article...

US trade court weighs legality of Trump's 10% global tariff A US trade court considered the legality of a 10% global import tax imposed by Trump, which ​several states and small businesses say sidesteps a SCOTUS ruling that invalidated most of his previous ‌tariffs. www.reuters.com/legal/govern...

Americans are starting to pay more for goods and services, from airline baggage fees to package deliveries. Companies such as Delta Air Lines and the United States Postal Service have warned that higher energy costs tied to the war in Iran are forcing price increases across industries.

A report by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, released on Friday, showed that inflation in March rose by 0.9 percent, compared with 0.3 percent in February. It was the largest uptick since May 2022, which took place at the height of the cost-of-living crisis prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr. Starmer’s new approach, which follows almost a year in which he repeatedly tried to cozy up to Mr. Trump, is part of a broader strategy to move Britain closer to partners in Europe, the Middle East, and elsewhere as the relationship with the United States sours. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/10/w...

Pete Hegseth’s holy war: the militant Christian theology animating the US attack on Iran The Bible-thumping US defense secretary is overseeing another strategic disaster in the Middle East. Is this a war or a crusade?

Collecting tolls in the strait would violate a basic and enduring principle of international maritime trade: freedom of peaceful navigation. It's an ancient idea that was codified by the United Nations' Convention on the Law of the Sea, which took effect in 1994. www.pbs.org/newshour/wor...

After Pope Leo XIV delivered his State of the World speech, Elbridge Colby (US Defense) summoned Cardinal Christophe Pierre, to a closed-door Pentagon meeting for a bitter lecture. “The US has the military power to do whatever it wants in the world. The Catholic Church had better take its side.”

While ceasefire negotiations are being discussed between Iran & the US, Israel continues bombing Gaza. Since 2/28, when Israel and the US began bombing Iran, Israel has also, on a near-daily basis, launched attacks on Lebanon, Gaza, & the occupied West Bank.

Bayraktar: We are going through what we might call the “mother of all crises”. The world has witnessed many oil crises in the past 50 years, such as the post-COVID-19 crisis & following the Ukrainian-Russian war, but this crisis seems to be the biggest of them all. www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/...

Average gas prices have increased $1+ since the US and Israel first attacked Iran. In 5 states — CA, HI, NV, OR, & WA — average gas prices are more than $5 per gallon, the highest nationally. States toward the middle of the country are paying the least. www.nbcnews.com/data-graphic...

Just what we need, more brain drain. www.chemistryworld.com/news/trump-r...

Trump's goals: • ending Iran's nuclear program • destroying its military capabilities • regime change. Yet after 5+ weeks of fighting, Trump has fallen short. In addition, Iran's control over the economically crucial Strait of Hormuz has created a crisis that didn't exist before the war began.

Did y'all MAGAs vote for this? www.bbc.com/news/article...

Israeli attacks on Lebanon raise questions about the future of a fragile Iran-United States ceasefire as the US and Israel insist Lebanon is not included in the agreement. Lebanon has declared a day of mourning after Israel killed at least 200 people & injured more than 1K in a single day on Wed..

Not only was it the hottest March on record for the US in 132 years, but the amount it was above normal beat any other month in history for the lower 48 states. March’s avg temperature of 50.85F(10.47C) was 9.35F (5.19C) above the 20th-century normal for March. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Anyway, just because the genocide didn’t come to pass, we should in no way, shape, or form excuse this clown from having pondered one. Thanks for permanently tarnishing the moral authority of the United States, you villainous asshat - that toxic toothpaste can never be put back in the tube.

US gov't attorneys on Tuesday told a federal judge the Department of Homeland Security still intends to deport Kilmar Ábrego García to Liberia, despite a new agreement with Costa Rica to accept deportees who cannot legally be returned to their home countries. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Fingers crossed. Rutte is the "Trump whisperer," after all. NATO's Mark Rutte is making another fraught trip to the White House today. Trump has turned increasingly hostile toward European allies, & all of Rutte’s flattery may not be enough to forestall a deeper & perhaps irreparable rupture.

Hundreds of women marched in Cuba’s capital, Havana, to protest the de facto oil blockade and pressure campaign that the United States has imposed on the island. www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/...

World leaders' relief was tempered by the profound powerlessness that most countries have felt over the last 6 weeks as they watched Trump wage a war that has rattled their economies, their energy supplies, their domestic politics, & their relationships with the world’s pre-eminent superpower.

If your tax return or payment is postmarked on or before the due date, the IRS will treat it as timely even if it arrives days later. But here’s the catch: new US Postal Service (USPS) rules could cause your postmark to be later than the day you actually mailed your documents.

2,000+ mathematicians have signed a petition calling on the International Mathematics Union to move its conference scheduled for Philadelphia in July, outside of the US. The signatories concerns • US's ongoing war on Iran • Foreign scholars may be profiled and detained by ICE

Iran released its version of the proposal after the US & Iran agreed to a 2-week cease-fire: • American troops to leave the region • Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz • Iran maintains its right to nuclear enrichment Conflicting with a 15-point proposal that US mediators laid out last month.

And there it is. See the @thetnholler.bsky.social post in comments. Perfect setup.

*many people are saying* it sure looks like the White House wrote this for Pakistan’s PM, who posted it then quickly deleted the top part 😬

1 of 3: “International humanitarian law strictly prohibits direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects. The US President’s threat of extermination and irreparable destruction brazenly shreds core rules of international humanitarian law, with potentially catastrophic consequences...

Trump says that "Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. They are lunatics, and you can't put nuclear weapons in the hands of a lunatic." Uh, I’d like to have a word with someone about this. substack.com/home/post/p-...

“This is cruel collective punishment – effectively an economic bombing of the infrastructure of the country – that has produced permanent damage,” Jayapal and Jackson said in a statement released on Sunday. “It must stop immediately.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Hey, young people of Iran. Not the best advice to follow. The powers that be don't have your best interest at heart. "Airstrikes pounded Tehran on Tuesday, and Iranian officials urged young people to form human chains to protect power plants." spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/austin/in...

So sick of this pussyfooting journalism. COULD BE considered a war crime? He's shoving it in the world's face. He's COMMITTING WAR CRIMES DAILY! Stop handling our dire situation with kid gloves. The entire world is witnessing. We're allowing this insanity. Get this #CriminalRegime TF outta there!

Mexico is facing a “toxic crisis” and has become a “garbage sink” for the US, exposing Mexican communities to dangerous pollution, a UN expert has warned. “US overconsumption and economic activity are using Mexico as a garbage sink.” The result, he said, is the “legalized poisoning of people”.

Israel warned Iranians not to take trains on Tuesday ahead of strikes. Trump said he is "not at all" concerned about committing possible war crimes as he again threatened to destroy Iran's bridges & power plants if Tehran does not meet his deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 8pm.

More Presidential taunting of war crimes. "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don't want that to happen, but it probably will," Trump wrote on Truth Social. He is batshit insane. And an immense danger to the entire world. www.axios.com/2026/04/07/t...

Trump’s VA eliminated a program that helped struggling veterans avoid foreclosure before a real replacement was ready. Veterans who were promised support after service are now being pushed toward eviction, financial collapse, and the loss of one of the few forms of stability they had left.

Constant purges are a tool of control. Officials are being kept in line through fear, instability, and the threat of removal if they fail Trump personally or politically. www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...

He's destroying US from the inside out for Vladdy Daddy. Trump is dismantling tools the US has long used to build influence, prevent instability, & compete with authoritarian rivals. That weakens American leverage abroad & leaves more room for countries like China & Russia to expand their reach.

Senior military leadership is being purged during an active war and replaced under political pressure. That weakens continuity, destabilizes command, pushes the armed forces closer to loyalty based control, and endangers national security. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Trump is openly saying war and militarization matter more than health care, child care, and the social safety net — a direct break from what he campaigned on. That lays the groundwork to cut federal support and shift the burden onto states and families. www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...

A federal inspection found 49 violations at a major ICE facility in Texas, including failures in medical care, use of force, & detainee safety. The camp, which holds thousands of migrants, has already seen multiple deaths & was previously operated by a contractor with no detention experience.

A federal judge ruled that Border agents violated a prior court order when they carried out immigration sweeps in a Sacramento Home Depot. The judge found agents detained people without individualized reasonable suspicion & ordered stronger documentation for future stops.

Immigration fear is now bleeding into military families. When families attending a graduation have to worry about enforcement screening, the climate of intimidation has already spread far beyond the border. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

A medical examiner ruled the death of Nurul Amin Shah Alam a homicide after Border Patrol agents dropped him off alone on a freezing night in Buffalo, where he died from hypothermia & dehydration. Officials investigate whether agents abandoned a vulnerable, nearly blind man without care or support.

WIRED identified dozens of BORTAC & BORSTAR agents involved in Trump’s ICE raids & repeated uses of force against civilians in Chicago, Minneapolis, & LA. Records & body camera footage show agents using tear gas, dogs, tasers, pepper rounds, & military-style tactics during domestic actions.

Presidential records exist so the public, Congress, and investigators can reconstruct what happened in office. Eliminating that requirement makes it easier to conceal official conduct, destroy accountability, and remove evidence from public reach. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/02/u...

3 lawsuits challenge Trump’s EO giving the US Postal Service a role in deciding who receives mail ballots. The plaintiffs argue the order overrides state authority, adds new barriers to voting by mail, & expands federal access to voter-related data.

The White House is recruiting a new class of interns with application questions centered on admiration for Trump and his Cabinet, while quietly dropping the paid stipend introduced by the Biden administration. The move restores a financial barrier to entry and rewards loyalty over public service.