“The judge overseeing the state murder trial of Luigi Mangione, the man accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, ruled Monday that prosecutors can use a gun and a notebook as evidence. Judge Gregory Carro’s ruling effectively rejected Mangione’s lawyers’ argument that those items were seized illegally, delivering a partial victory to prosecutors. However, Carro said prosecutors cannot admit items found in Mangione’s backpack when he was arrested at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania two years ago, including a loaded magazine, a passport and a wallet. Authorities have previously described the red notebook found in his bag as a ‘manifesto.’ Mangione’s arrest came five days after Thompson, a 50-year-old father of two, was shot dead outside a Manhattan hotel as he walked to an investors’ conference.” (05/18/26)
“Nonprofits face a series of interlocking crises in the second Trump administration. Most obviously, there are broadsides from the White House: indiscriminate funding cuts for human services providers, targeted pressure campaigns and cuts to research funding for higher education, threats to investigate and prosecute left-leaning philanthropies. But this challenge is layered on top of a deeper crisis of trust.” (05/18/26)
“The contemporary leftist [sic] is a consequentialist with no limiting principles. After the Virginia Supreme Court stopped the Democrats’ unconstitutional gerrymandering scheme, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, now the favorite Democratic Party presidential prospect 2028 in a number of polls, claimed that the court ‘didn’t overturn a map’ but ‘overturned an election.’ ‘The power of the American people, that should be the ultimate check on all three branches,’ she declared. In any other age, vocalizing illiterate nonsense about our system of governance might be an embarrassing career-ending flub. Today, it’s the norm among progressives.” (05/18/26)
“Australia ordered the shareholders linked to China to sell their stakes in Northern Minerals, a company that is developing a rare earth mine. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said he had issued orders on Monday following concerns that Chinese investors had tried to take control of Northern Minerals. The Australia-based mining company is developing its Browns Range project in the far north of the state of Western Australia to mine significant reserves of dysprosium and terbium. The six companies are to sell their stake within two weeks. Chalmer’s decision aims to protect the country’s national interest and to ensure compliance with its foreign investment framework, he said in a statement.” (05/18/26)
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob Hornberger
“To date, President Trump and the U.S. national-security branch of the federal government (i.e., the Pentagon, the CIA, and the NSA) have assassinated around 200 people in small boats on the high seas near South America. Such assassinations are quickly becoming a normalized part of American life, especially within the mainstream press. There is no question but that the American people, as of now, can do little to stop these assassinations. Trump controls the congressional branch of government as well as the Justice Department. Ever since the conversion of the federal government to a national-security state, the Supreme Court has made it clear that it will not enforce the Constitution against anything the Pentagon, the CIA, and the NSA do in the name of ‘national security.'” (05/18/26)
“A wave of strikes starting on Tuesday by London Underground drivers has been suspended by the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT). Drivers were due to walk out at 12:00 BST on Tuesday and resume on Thursday in a dispute over the voluntary introduction of a four-day week with condensed hours. On Monday, the RMT said ‘at the 11th hour the employer has shifted its position allowing us to further explore our members concerns around the imposition of new rosters, fatigue and safety issues.’ Transport for London (TfL) described the suspension as ‘good news for London.’ Industrial action planned for 16 and 18 June has been suspended but fresh strikes have been called for 2 and 4 June.” (05/18/26)
