The Hormuz Blockade Is as Much About China as Iran  —  The black market for Iranian oil wouldn't exist without China.  Before the Iran war began, Beijing bought 95% of all the crude Tehran shipped via a network of sanctioned tankers, mysterious traders and shadowy financial links.

2 Swalwell accusers discuss his downfall and the fear of coming forward: “He thought he was untouchable”  —  Add CBS News on Google  —  Two women who have accused Rep. Eric Swalwell of misconduct told CBS News that, while they feel “vindicated” now that he has dropped his bid …

Trump's incredible shrinking tent  —  Donald Trump is torching the coalition that made him president, seemingly unaware — or simply unconcerned — with the depth of discontent permeating his movement. … - What Republicans celebrated as a once-in-a-generation coalition may turn out to be exactly that, never to be reassembled.

Reps. Tony Gonzales and Eric Swalwell officially resign amid misconduct claims  —  The Texas Republican and California Democrat had both faced potential expulsion votes after they were accused of sexual misconduct with staff members.  —  WASHINGTON — Both Rep. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat …

Appeals court orders judge to end contempt investigation of Trump administration deportation flights  —  A federal judge must end his “intrusive” contempt investigation of the Trump administration for failing to comply with an order turn around planes carrying Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador last year …

Government Workers Say They're Getting Inundated With Religion  —  “This has never happened before,” one government employee tells WIRED.  “I have never gotten a message like this from anyone.”  —  On Easter Sunday, US Department of Agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins sent out an email titled “He has risen!” to the entire agency.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to continue publishing after sale to nonprofit media group  —  The publisher of a highly regarded nonprofit digital news outlet based in Baltimore announced Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire the assets of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, ending nearly a century …

In Leo, Trump Faces a Different Kind of Papal Opponent  —  Unlike his predecessor, Pope Leo XIV enjoys growing support from a broad swath of conservative Catholics.  —  Donald Trump ascended to office 10 years ago while publicly jousting with Pope Francis, who was routinely making headlines …

Trump's Humiliation in Orbán Defeat Stunner Is Only Just Beginning  —  The extraordinary defeat of Viktor Orbán in Hungary has unleashed much mockery of JD Vance, and it's richly deserved.  The vice president's last-minute rally in Budapest cast the Hungarian election as a referendum …

Here's How to Defeat Trumpism  —  Peter Magyar's landslide victory in Hungary this week offers inspiration to Americans hoping to overcome President Trump's corrupt, authoritarian approach to politics.  The key question is precisely how Mr. Magyar conducted such a successful opposition campaign.

Virginia Governor Ends Tax Breaks for Confederate Groups  —  The new law signed by Gov. Abigail Spanberger is the culmination of a long, Democrat-led push to distance Virginia from its Confederate past.  —  Gov. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia has signed into law a bill to end tax exemptions …

US wholesale prices surged 4% last month after the war in Iran sent energy prices soaring  —  U.S. wholesale prices surged last month as the Iran war drove up the cost of energy.  The Labor Department reported Tuesday that its producer price index — which measures inflation before it hits consumers …

Raskin offers bill setting up 25th Amendment process to remove Trump from office  —  Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, introduced a bill on Tuesday that seeks to kick-start the removal of President Donald Trump through the 25th Amendment …

Todd Blanche says Americans should be ‘happy’ Trump is deeply involved in DOJ  —  The acting attorney general said in an interview with NBC News that he's not concerned when Trump “encourages or directs or expects the Department of Justice to do its job.”  —  Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche …

JD Vance Would Make a Horrible Presidential Candidate  —  He's unpopular and unlikable.  No amount of Vancewashing in the news is going to change that.  —  I mentioned here in the shebeen on Monday that I suspected the elite political media was warming up to rehabilitate Vice President J. Divan Vance …

Court orders probe of DOGE's secret voter data deal after ‘alarming’ revelations  —  A federal judge Tuesday ordered a sweeping evidence-gathering process in a case over the Trump administration's access to Social Security data — a shift that could force the government to turn over records tied …

It's the prices, stupid  —  This week's Deep Dive is a follow-up article to my posts from Sunday and Friday.  You don't need to read them to understand this piece, but they might give you some more context for what I'm doing here and why.  —  My Tuesday Deep Dive is a weekly premium article …

Whistleblower says Trump officials thought USAID did ‘just abortions,’ asked for ‘Barney-style’ slides before gutting agency, per new book  —  Read an exclusive excerpt from Nicholas Enrich's “Into the Wood Chipper”  —  One of the first acts by the second Trump administration was the complete gutting …

Trump's Corruption Is What's Tanking the Economy  —  It's the Corruption, Stupid  —  In the aftermath of Viktor Orbán's defeat in Hungary, a typically shallow conventional wisdom has already emerged that unless President Trump gets the economy turned around, Republicans are going to have hell …

Caught in the Crackdown: As Arrests at Anti-ICE Protests Piled Up, Prosecutions Crumbled  —  The National Guard soldiers in desert camo piled out of unmarked vans in East Los Angeles last June, cordoning off East Sixth Street, a residential street lined with single family houses …

French woman, 86, held by ICE after moving to US to marry 1950s sweetheart  —  The family of Marie-Thérèse, from Brittany, fear for her health after she was cuffed and placed in a detention centre  —  An 86-year-old French woman who moved to the US to marry her 1950s sweetheart …

Middle East War Will Slow Global Economic Growth, I.M.F. Warns  —  The conflict could also fuel another bout of inflation, according to the International Monetary Fund.  —  War in the Middle East has upended the world economy, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday …

Trump turns against ‘unacceptable’ Meloni  —  ROME — U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday branded Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as “unacceptable” and complained she was “no longer the same person,” a day after she criticized his attack on Pope Leo XIV.

Italy's Meloni halts defense pact with Israel  —  The prime minister pointed to “the current situation” in the Middle East as justification for her government's decision.  —  ROME — Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has suspended Italy's defense cooperation agreement with Israel as she continues …

Separating Fact from Fiction in FACE Act Enforcement  —  This piece is part of the Collection: Just Security's Coverage of the Trump Administration's Executive Actions.  —  Today, the Trump administration released a report repeating unsupported claims that the Department of Justice's prior enforcement …