US, Iran Warn: With Talks in Limbo, We're Ready for War

The United States and Iran on Monday each warned they were ready for war as the clock ticked on a ceasefire, with lingering uncertainty over talks that President Donald Trump had announced would resume in Pakistan.

The White House said Vice President JD Vance was ready to fly back to the Pakistani capital Islamabad, which was visibly preparing for a second round of talks on ending the war that has engulfed the Middle East and shaken global markets.

But Tehran's cleric-run government declined to confirm that it would participate and accused the United States of violating the truce through its blockade of Iranian ports and seizure of a ship.

"By imposing a blockade and violating the ceasefire, Trump wants to turn this negotiating table into a surrender table or justify renewed hostilities, as he sees fit," said Iran's powerful parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who headed the delegations to talks two weeks ago in Pakistan.

"We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats, and in the last two weeks we have been preparing to show new cards on the battlefield," he wrote on X.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards have warned of targeting any vessel attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz without permission.

Trump has similarly accused Tehran of violating the truce by harassing vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, the transit passage for one-fifth of the world's oil that Iran had all but shut in retaliation for the war launched by the United States and Israel in late February.

In one of a series of angry posts on his Truth Social platform, Trump insisted that the blockade was "absolutely destroying" Iran

 

 and said it will not end "until there is a 'DEAL'," in which the United States is pressing for Iranian concessions on its contested nuclear programs.

Trump told PBS News that Iran was "supposed to be there" at the talks in Pakistan.

"We agreed to be there," he said, warning that if the ceasefire expired, "then lots of bombs start going off".

He separately told Bloomberg News it was "highly unlikely" he would extend the two-week truce.

Based on its start time, the truce theoretically expires overnight Tuesday, Tehran time, although in his comments to Bloomberg, Trump said the end was a day later, on Wednesday evening Washington time.

- Oil jitters return -

Oil prices jumped sharply on Monday over fears hostilities could resume in the weeks-long war, after Iran closed Hormuz again following a brief reopening over the weekend.

In Tehran, where the main airports reopened on Monday, life appeared largely back to normal, with cafes crowded and people out exercising and strolling in parks.

But city residents who spoke to Paris-based AFP journalists said the situation was far from rosy.

"Let's see what happens by Tuesday. The only thing that the 50 days of war has shown is that no one cares about the Iranian people," one 30-year-old doctor said on condition of anonymity.

Saghar, 39, said there was little hope for Iranians squeezed by the government and the war's impact.

"The economy is horrible. They detain people for nothing," she said, declining to give her family name.

Vance's delegation -- which also includes Trump's real estate friend turned globe-trotting negotiator Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner -- was poised to depart for Pakistan "soon," a source familiar with the plan told AFP.

- New Israel-Lebanon Talks -

A separate ceasefire agreed between Israel and Lebanon was announced on Friday and included Hezbollah, whose rocket fire in support of Iran drew Lebanon into the war.

Israel and Lebanon, which have no diplomatic relations, will hold a second round of talks on Thursday in Washington, a State Department official told AFP.

Sporadic violence continued and Israel's military warned civilians against returning to dozens of villages in southern Lebanon, claiming Hezbollah's activities were violating the truce.

Nonetheless, thousands of displaced Lebanese have begun making their way back.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah 

 

told AFP that his group would work to break the "Yellow Line" that Israel has established in the south, even as he said it wanted "the ceasefire to continue".

Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed at least 2,387 people since the start of the war, a Lebanese government body said in its latest toll.

Another major issue in the U.S.-Iran negotiations has been Tehran's stockpile of enriched uranium, which Trump said on Friday it had agreed to hand over.

But Iran's foreign ministry has said the stockpile, thought to be buried from U.S. bombing in last June's 12-day war with Israel, was "not going to be transferred anywhere."

Baqaei said handing over uranium was "never raised as an option" in talks with U.S. negotiators.

 

Nothing to See Here, Folks: DOJ's Dhillon Reveals That an Awful Lot of People on Voter Rolls Are Dead

The Left will tell you that voter fraud is a barely-there issue, and that our elections are as pure as fresh snow. Why then do they seem hell-bent on preventing any efforts to ensure their integrity and demonizing anyone who points out irregularities?

And there are irregularities, as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon 

 

told Sunday Morning Futures host Maria Bartiromo. There’s a whole lot of corpses gumming up the works:

The Trump administration has sued multiple states for failing to turn over voter rolls to the Department of Justice, which is seeking to ensure compliance with the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act, and other federal laws aimed at protecting the right to vote. Dhillon told Bartiromo that, even in states trying to comply with the laws, issues concerning voting eligibility were still being identified.

“States are not in compliance, even those ones who want to. So, for the ones that we’ve run so far—60 million records that we’ve run—we found at least 350,000 dead people currently on the voter rolls in those jurisdictions, and we’ve referred approximately 25,000 people with no citizenship records to [the Department of] Homeland Security to look at, you know, dig into that further and see the extent to which people voted,” Dhillon told Bartiromo.

Her takeaway? Don’t listen to the Left on this subject:

“I’m in touch with voting rights activists who are showing me information about people who have voted who are not American citizens. So the Left told us this never happens and it’s a myth, it definitely happened.”

Watch:

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RELATED: Report: Harmeet Dhillon to Receive Promotion at DOJ

Report: DOJ Investigating J6 Committee 'Star Witness' for Perjury

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This story out of California highlights the response of Democrats when faced with allegations of irregularities: attack the messenger, in this case, a woman who was able to register her dog to vote:

The actual threat to California’s democracy lies in the response of state officials when presented with evidence or allegations of serious problems in the state’s elections.

Rather than work with people who attempt to identify potential vulnerabilities within the election system, California’s election officials either ignore them (at best) –– or work against them at every turn.

When [dog owner] Yourex contacted the Orange County Registrar of Voters to inform county officials that her dog had not only been registered to vote, but had received an actual mail-in ballot, she wasn’t met with gratitude.

For five years, she was met with total silence.

That silence ended when she was arrested and charged with five felonies (four of which were ultimately dismissed).

Yourex submitted mail-in ballots under the name of her dog, Maya Jean Yourex, during the 2021 gubernatorial recall election and the 2022 primary.

The initial ballot was counted, but the second one was challenged and ultimately rejected by officials.

This case raises concerns about voter fraud and the integrity of the electoral process, showing how some may exploit system loopholes.

This is one reason we need to require ID to vote!

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Peak California: Woman in Orange County Registers Her Dog to Vote; The Dog Casts Ballots in Two Elections

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To Democrats, that’s not a problem; to them, the real threat is the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would require ID to vote. Why should you have to prove who you are?

Dhillon vows to clean it up, though, and has sued 29 states and the District of Columbia to obtain access to their voter rolls. Not surprisingly, many of those states are resisting.

Why are they hiding if there's no there there?

 

Turning Off the Lights in the Name of Data Centers and Renewable Energy

The scenic town of Tahoe City, California, with a population of roughly 55,000, will be entering the market to find a new supplier for their energy needs as its current supplier turns their sights towards renewables in Nevada.

Tahoe City and the surrounding Lake Tahoe Basin currently purchase their energy through Liberty Utilities. Like many utility companies, Liberty Utilities uses an energy mix to provide power to its customers. According to Liberty Utilities sources, they currently use a mix of their own Liberty-owned solar systems with a partnership with NV Energy. NV Energy has been filling in the inevitable gaps in their solar power generation, stepping in as their wholesale energy provider to meet the needs of ratepayers. As we all know, the sun eventually sets, but that doesn’t mean that power generation can set, too.

NV Energy will be partnering with Liberty Utilities in mid- to late- 2027 to turn its bandwidth (pun intended) toward the NV Energy Greenlink Project. The Greenlink Project is marketed as a large-scale transmission and substation initiative designed to expand Nevada’s energy grid and transport renewable energy across Nevada.

 

However, there may be more at play. As first reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, NV Energy’s Director of Business Development said in September that data centers have driven requests to NV Energy’s peak capacity. It is reasonable to assume that this could be a large motivating factor for why the company is turning away from ratepayers and building new infrastructure for lucrative deals with data centers.

What does all this mean for the people of Tahoe City?

NV Energy will continue to provide transmission for Liberty Utilities, meaning that they will still use their infrastructure to receive the supplemental power they need if only relying on solar generation.

In the interim, Liberty Utilities is seeking approval from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to search for new partners. They will engage in a formal bidding process, allowing energy suppliers to compete for their business.

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SEE ALSO: The Left Coast Is Pumping Again As Trump Unleashes Tens of Thousands of Barrels of Offshore Oil a Day

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As Liberty Utilities and Tahoe City face this period of transition in the years ahead, there are two valuable lessons American ratepayers can take from this. After all, California is often an incubator for policies that eventually make their way into America’s heartland.

First, data centers have and will continue to require ever-larger amounts of energy, posing an ever-growing demand on our already aging energy grids. While the innovation, economic growth, and job opportunities that come along with data centers are laudable goals for any state or community, there can and must be mechanisms put in place that hold data centers accountable for their energy consumption without imposing increased costs or energy scarcity upon ratepayers in the region. According to their press release, Liberty Utilities will do its best to keep rates similar for its ratepayers, while also noting that no utility can predict the exact future cost of energy.

The second lesson lies in the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The CPUC has the authority to regulate privately owned utilities in California, oversee rates and services for utilities, and manage energy source siting and the authorizing of any new energy source projects in the Golden State.

What this means is that the CPUC has the authority to prioritize affordable, reliable, and clean energy for all future energy projects in California. Prioritizing all three of these components as interdependent pillars for the future of energy projects would result in greater energy abundance and ease the issue of energy affordability in a state that desperately needs it.

California has been one of the pioneers, if not the pioneer, for green and renewable energy in our nation, 

 

and yet they also consistently have some of the highest energy prices in the country, on average, roughly double the national average. Is this a coincidence?

Absolutely not. Renewable energy sources are among the most expensive and unreliable sources of energy, not to mention they have myriad negative environmental impacts that are almost never discussed.

To ensure prosperity for a state, community, or town, and for their ratepayers, utility companies such as Liberty Utilities and state utility regulators should consider affordability, reliability, and full-spectrum cleanliness in order to move into an energy renaissance, which always results in economic and population prosperity.

There is a real chance for Tahoe City and Liberty Utilities to make a meaningful change as they appeal to the CPUC and chart a new path forward for the energy needs of local residents.

However, based on previous political and corporate decisions in California, it is highly unlikely that it would happen, but the opportunity persists. As all Americans barrel towards a society full of AI, data centers, and increased rates because of energy demand, the lessons of Tahoe City and its energy needs can remain ever-present to all of us.

Hopefully, the transition for Tahoe City will go smoothly and present very little upheaval for ratepayers. Only time will tell in the story of data center development and an increased push toward renewables.

 

Rep. Nancy Mace Introduces Resolution to Expel Rep. Cory Mills

Republican Rep. Nancy Mace has brought about a new resolution to expel fellow Republican Rep. Cory Mills, her office announced Monday evening. The congresswoman made a slew of posts calling for his expulsion on both her personal and official X accounts.

 

The move to remove Mills comes after numerous allegations against the Florida congressman surfaced over a variety of issues, including domestic violence and stolen valor.

 

“The evidence against Mills is overwhelming: beating women and telling them to lie about it, cyberstalking women, lying about his military service, and profiting off his seat,” Mace said in a statement on social media. “Any Member who votes to keep him here is voting to protect a woman beater and a fraud.”

Mills responded to Mace in his own social media post, and has encouraged the congresswoman to bring forward a vote on his expulsion. He has considered her attempt to oust him from Congress as playing "political fundraising theatrics" while "ignoring due process." Mills also referred to Mace's own Ethics investigation.

Mills notably aided Rep. Ilhan Omar

 

 in keeping her committee assignments after her comments relating to the assassination of Charlie Kirk. He was one of only four Republicans who voted to keep Omar in power.

 

Law Professor Is Very Worried About This Trend Among Elected Dems

George Washington University Law School 

 

Professor Jonathan Turley isn’t a conservative, though some on the Left might lump him in with us, because he’s not enthusiastic about many trends within the Democratic Party during the Trump era. Specifically, the obsession with impeachment that resembles a crack cocaine addiction. It’s no secret that House Democrats will file impeachment articles if they regain the majority in November. 

Over what is anyone’s guess—it’s all nonsense—but Turley rightly pointed out that Democrats are trying to use impeachment as if it’s our version of the UK parliament’s vote of no confidence motions. 

 

They’re not the same. We have established laws governing impeachment, and using it just because a) you’re upset that your opponent won an election, or b) you simply don’t like the individual, is fundamentally wrong. It’s a childish view of the rule of law. It also reveals the state of progressivism after a century of development—it’s ugly, illiberal, and authoritarian. All elements of society must break to the will of the state. 

“I cannot express how damaging that is for our constitutional values and history. They're making impeachment into the English vote of no confidence; that's not what it is. It is something much more serious than that, but they're turning it into an unbridled circus,” said Turley.

Alas, that’s another action item for the Left: rendering our Constitution unable to constitute. The core text of our founding documents does not comport with their agenda or worldview. Therefore, it must be destroyed. We’re watching this live. 

 

Patel sues The Atlantic for $250M following publication of 'defamatory hit piece'

FBI Director Kash Patel has filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic over an article published last week. The complaint, obtained by NBC News, names the publication’s parent company, The Atlantic Monthly Group LLC (AMG), and staff writer Sarah Fitzpatrick as defendants.

 

“Defendants are of course free to criticize the leadership of the FBI, but they crossed the legal line by publishing an article replete with false and obviously fabricated allegations designed to destroy Director Patel’s reputation and drive him from office,” the suit stated.

The article leveled several serious allegations against Patel, citing a “drinking problem” and erratic behavior, including “unexplained” absences. Fitzpatrick reportedly relied on a wide array of “anonymous sources,” allegedly including former FBI officials, intelligence personnel, members of Congress, and hospitality workers.

One specific anecdote claimed Patel “freaked out” after being unable to log into a computer system, allegedly fearing he had been fired by the White House. While the incident was ultimately a technical glitch, sources claimed it reflected Patel’s deep-seated anxiety regarding his job security. In his lawsuit, Patel categorically denies these claims, describing the computer incident as a “routine technical problem” that was resolved quickly.

 

Furthermore, the suit alleges that the FBI had explicitly informed the outlet and Fitzpatrick that the rumors of his impending termination and “freak-out” were entirely fabricated.

“They are so demonstrably and obviously false, or easily refuted, that it was at best reckless to publish them,” the suit added.

At its core, the article centers on Patel’s alleged alcohol consumption, claiming that “excessive drinking” has hindered his ability to perform his duties as FBI director. According to the piece, various witnesses described him as engaging in frequent bouts of intoxication that purportedly compromised his professional responsibilities.

 

“As discussed above, these claims about erratic behavior and excessive drinking are fabricated, and Defendants were on notice of this,” the suit stated.

In an interview with Maria Bartiromo of Fox News,

 

 Patel, in light of the allegations, touted the success of the FBI. “So if I’m not doing my job, if I’m not working, then how is it that the FBI delivered the safest America under President Trump’s leadership in the history of our country,” he declared.

The document also pointed to past hit pieces on Patel by The Atlantic.

“AMG, through The Atlantic, has for months pursued a demonstrable editorial campaign to damage Director Patel’s reputation and force him from office,” the suit stated. “Numerous Atlantic pieces over the past two years have characterized Director Patel as unqualified, dangerous, corrupt, or mentally unstable,” it added.

All the sources cited by Fitzpatrick were anonymous, the piece reiterates. 

 

“Indeed, Fitzpatrick could not get a single person to go on the record in defense of these outrageous allegations, instead relying entirely on anonymous sources she knew to be both highly partisan with an ax to grind and also not in a position to know the facts,” it stated.

Fitzpatrick reported that many of her sources chose anonymity over traditional whistleblower channels due to alleged fears of retaliation, further claiming that Patel aggressively targets those he perceives as “insufficiently loyal.” However, the lawsuit emphasizes that the FBI formally warned the publication the claims were false prior to print — a denial that Fitzpatrick acknowledged within the article itself.

“Print it, all false, I’ll see you in court — bring your checkbook,” Patel reportedly said in an FBI statement, per The Atlantic article.

The article also included a statement provided to Fitzpatrick by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.

“Patel has accomplished more in 14 months than the previous administration did in four years. Anonymously sourced hit pieces do not constitute journalism,” Blanche said.

 

Hollywood Exposed: How Celebrities Manipulate Public Perception

Megyn Kelly’s April 20, 2026 interview with Rob Shuter pulled back the velvet curtain on celebrity spin and the manufactured narratives Hollywood feeds the public, and conservatives should pay attention. Shuter, a onetime publicist turned gossip chronicler, didn’t come on the show to flatter the industry — he came to expose how the machine really works and who benefits from the myths.

Rob Shuter’s new book, It Started With a Whisper, 

 

is being sold as fiction, but anyone who’s watched Hollywood knows fiction and fact are often interchangeable when PR teams are running damage control. Shuter’s past work for big names, including Jennifer Lopez, 

 

gives him the credentials to say what he’s saying, and that makes his revelations hard to dismiss.

On Kelly’s show Shuter offered inside context about J.Lo’s high-profile relationship with Ben Affleck and the way handlers craft breakup statements and demand privacy while simultaneously exploiting publicity. This is the playbook: generate headlines, shape the narrative, then collect the rewards — all while lecturing the rest of America about morals and restraint.

Americans should be skeptical of celebrities who portray themselves as wronged innocents in public while their entourages engineer every angle behind the scenes. Shuter’s book and interviews make plain that Hollywood’s economy depends on scarcity of truth and abundance of spin, and that’s corrosive to a culture that values honesty and personal responsibility.

 

It’s refreshing — and frankly patriotic — when someone with real insider knowledge refuses to keep quiet and instead calls out the games being played at our expense. If conservatives want to reclaim cultural influence, we start by exposing the hypocrisy: demand transparency from elite institutions and stop letting celebrity PR firms set the moral agenda for hardworking Americans.

Rob Shuter didn’t simply toss gossip into the ether; he turned his experience into a cautionary tale that should make every parent, voter, and taxpayer rethink where they get their values. Megyn Kelly gave him a platform to do that, and it’s a reminder that honest conversations about fame, family, and accountability still matter — even in an industry that profits from their absence.

 

Newsom's Wife Sparks Outrage with Controversial Comments

In a world where political campaigns and family dynamics intertwine like spaghetti on a fork, we have Gavin Newsom’s wife serving up an interesting dish of ideas that are certainly raising eyebrows. Now, let’s dive into the whirlpool of her recent comments that have folks scratching their heads and rubbing their temples in disbelief. It’s like a roller coaster ride through a funhouse, where the mirrors are warped and the laughs are a bit nervous!

So, here’s the scoop: Newsom’s wife has been making headlines with her unconventional parenting techniques. And by unconventional, I mean she has taken it upon herself to ensure her sons embrace an alternate reality where dolls and female protagonists reign supreme! Yes, folks, this means that when reading a book featuring “he,” she switches it to “she.” It’s like a literary magic trick that’s supposed to open up her kids’ minds, but it’s leaving many of us wondering if she’s conjuring up a whole new genre of fairy tales where the prince is always a princess. Surely, the more normal alternative would be to let kids enjoy their stories without all the rewriting—maybe mix a doll or two in with the action figures, but hey, that’s just a thought!

To be fair, everyone wants their kids to grow up open-minded and empathetic, but there’s a line between enlightenment and outright confusion. It’s like teaching an old dog new tricks by dressing him in a tutu instead of showing him how to roll over! She may think she’s breaking down limiting narratives, but for some, it feels like she’s throwing a smoke bomb to distract from what really matters: allowing kids to be kids. Are we about to start a petition for storytime where parents read the classics straight up, no changes necessary? Maybe we should!

Now, she also mentioned that there’s a lot to learn from same-sex couples in terms of communication and care work. And sure, everyone could benefit from improved communication, but it’s beginning to sound like she’s gearing up for a TED Talk on radical inclusivity—right after her next performance at the local comedy club. While it’s great to promote understanding amongst different family structures, it’s equally important to keep a healthy balance of perspective. I mean, not everyone is lining up to take parenting advice from same-sex couples. A little understanding goes a long way, but let’s not miss the bigger picture while we’re at it!

 

And as the conversation twists and turns like a politician dodging questions at a press conference, some folks are questioning if this kind of openness is a boost for her husband’s campaign or a recipe for political disaster. Can you imagine if she shows up to debate season like, “Here’s why doll playtime is critical to family values!”? It’s a high-stakes game where you either win the hearts of the people or find yourself out in the cold, wondering why nobody can follow your train of thought. Gavin might want to keep her off the campaign trail—unless he’s gunning for the “Wildest Family Ideas of the Year” award!

In the end, as we watch this political circus unfold, it’s a mix of laughter, cringes, and an occasional “Did she really just say that?” moment. While it’s great to keep conversations going about gender norms and parenting styles, let’s hope that somewhere along the way, we don’t forget that kids just want to play and enjoy their stories—without any rewrites or rebranding. So here’s to keeping the humor alive in politics while we try to make sense of it all!

 

CartoonDems

 

Hilton: California Race About 'Change,' Not Trump Ratings

President Donald Trump's low approval ratings in California will not determine the outcome of the state's closely watched governor's race, Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton told The Hill on Sunday.

Hilton said, "This election is going to be about the future of California and the fact that we're desperate for change."

Hilton, a conservative commentator and former adviser to former British Prime Minister David Cameron, has received Trump's endorsement but argued that state-specific issues — including poverty, unemployment, and the high cost of living — are driving voter concerns.

 

"That's entirely due to Democrat policies after 16 years of one-party rule," Hilton said, adding that his campaign will focus on offering "a completely new direction" for the state.

Polling underscores the political challenges Republicans face in California. A survey conducted last May by the Public Policy Institute of California found that 29% of adults in the state approve of Trump, including 82% of Republicans, 31% of independents, and just 6% of Democrats.

The comments come ahead of a key primary debate scheduled for Wednesday on KTLA-TV in Los Angeles, as candidates vie to advance from the June 2 primary under California's top-two system, in which the two highest vote-getters advance to the general election regardless of party.

The race tightened following the withdrawal of former Rep. Eric Swalwell after multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct.

A recent poll by Emerson College found Hilton leading with 17% support among likely voters, followed by Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and businessman Tom Steyer at 14% each.

Former Rep. Katie Porter and former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra each polled at 10%.

California has not elected a Republican governor since Arnold Schwarzenegger left office in 2011.

 

Despite the crowded field, Hilton dismissed the likelihood that two Republicans could advance to the general election, citing what he described as the financial strength of Democrat-aligned groups and candidates.

"You've got the massive financial power of the government unions and their corrupt relationship with Democrat politicians," Hilton said. "They will spend whatever it takes to make sure that there's a Democrat in the top two."

Hilton said he expects either Steyer or Porter to emerge as the leading Democrat contender and warned that Republicans must consolidate support to avoid being shut out of the general election.