Source: Town Hall
by Gregory Lyakhov
“The United States was built on a distrust of concentrated power. It is this fundamental distrust of big government that shaped federalism, defined the separation of powers, and limited each branch to a distinct role. During periods of rapid social change, however, governmental restraint weakens. Reform movements (whether in civil rights, economic regulation, or cultural policy) have not only produced legislation but also expanded judicial authority. Social progressivism brings courts to no longer just interpret the law but also reshape it. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 addressed a clear injustice. It prohibited discrimination in employment and public accommodations based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Congress enacted the law through the democratic process, responding to a national failure to enforce equal protection. While many conservatives criticize the Act’s expansion of federal authority, it came through elected representatives.” (04/22/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/gregory-lyakhov/2026/04/22/why-social-change-typically-limits-democracy-n2674846
Source: US News & World Report
“The Trump administration is in advanced talks about a potential rescue of low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines, which is struggling to exit bankruptcy, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The discussions underscore one of the unintended consequences of the Iran war launched by Washington: a surge in jet fuel prices that is rippling through the aviation industry, squeezing margins and pushing weaker airlines closer to the brink. Fuel costs have roughly doubled since the conflict began, forcing carriers to raise fares, cut flights and scramble to preserve cash. For Spirit, which was already struggling to turn a profit before the fuel shock, the spike has intensified doubts about whether it can survive on its own. The U.S. government is weighing a financing package that could include lending the airline up to $500 million in exchange for warrants, the Wall Street Journal reported.” (04/22/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2026-04-22/trump-administration-nears-deal-to-rescue-spirit-airlines-wsj-reports
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave gives his radar on San Francisco cracking down on crime in its public transportation system, and how he thinks it can serve as a model for other cities.” (04/22/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/5834603-rising-april-22-2026/
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“One way of choosing among different forms of punishment is by how much it costs to impose a given cost on the criminal. Consider first execution. The cost to the criminal is one life. That is also, if we ignore the salary of the hangman or the electric bill for the electric chair, both trivial in comparison, the total cost, so the ratio of total cost to amount of deterrence is about one. The same would be true for a corporal punishment such as a flogging. Next consider imprisonment, one of the two common forms of criminal punishment in modern societies.” (04/22/26)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/the-case-against-efficient-punishment
Source: Niskanen Center
by Shriya Garg
“The one-year anniversary of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) has renewed attention to the financial stability of rural hospitals. The sweeping legislation made significant changes to Medicaid funding and eligibility, effects of which are still coming into focus for rural facilities. But the OBBBA is only the latest chapter in a longer story. The structural forces most responsible for rural hospitals’ financial precarity predate the law by decades.” (04/22/26)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/how-the-medicare-wage-index-disadvantages-rural-areas
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“For the first time since World War II, Japanese combat troops are participating in live-fire, land-and-sea military exercises in an Asian country that was once under the harsh rule of imperial Japan. On Monday, some 1,400 Japanese soldiers joined with the forces of a few other democracies around the Pacific to practice mock battles for 19 days in the northern Philippines – not far from China and the islands it forcibly claims in the South China Sea. … For Japan, this overseas training under real-world conditions marks a historic turning point for its postwar pacifist tradition and its heavy reliance on the United States for external defense. Yet, on a larger scale, it puts on display a long-term effort by many Asian democracies and their Western partners to define the meaning of shared security, preferably the kind that cannot be seen as ganging up on China.” (04/21/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0421/Asia-s-expanding-circle-of-security
Source: Drop Site
“Two Iranian women remain in immigration detention, [abducted] earlier this month on accusations of being the niece and grandniece of Qasem Soleimani, despite no connection to the late Iranian military commander. Drop Site reviewed Iranian birth records, identification papers, a family will, and other personal documents and found no connection whatsoever to him or his extended family. One of the women is now seriously ill in a Texas facility, her chronic blood condition left effectively untreated. On March 8, right-wing activist Laura Loomer posted on X calling for the deportation of a woman she claimed was Soleimani’s niece. The commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Maj. Gen. Soleimani was assassinated by a U.S. drone strike, ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump, in Baghdad on January 3, 2020. … On April 3, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter, Sarina Hosseiny, [abducted] by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at their home outside Los Angeles.” (04/22/26)
https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/iranian-women-ice-detention-not-related-qasem-soleimani-rubio-loomer
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Trump Blinks, But Hormuz Blockade Blocks Further Talks.” (04/22/26)
https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1AGRnazvMVvGl
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Lyle J Goldstein
“Rather than a clash, these titans are likely tempered by the Middle East war. The question, who now has the better advantage?” (04/22/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-xi-summit/
Source: Fox News
by Dr. Marc Siegel
“I have known cardiologist Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, for many years. I’ve interviewed him multiple times on my show, ‘Doctor Radio Reports’ on SiriusXM, and have also spent time around the dinner table with him and his family. … Dr. Oz spends a lot of time with President Donald Trump these days as they travel to and attend events together. He told me recently on my show that he is struck by how clever and funny the president is and how he doesn’t actually have a bad diet.” (04/22/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/dr-marc-siegel-dr-oz-says-trumps-diet-may-surprise-harshest-critics
