“The first direct commercial flight between the United States and Venezuela departed a bit early Thursday on its way to the capital of the South American country, seven years after the U.S. Homeland Security Department ordered an indefinite suspension, citing security concerns. The resumption of a nonstop commercial flight between the two countries comes months after the U.S. capture of then President Nicolás Maduro in a stunning nighttime raid on his residence in Caracas in early January. It also comes a month after the U.S. formally reopened its embassy in Caracas following the restoration of full diplomatic relations with Venezuela.” (04/30/26)
“The US is ‘studying and reviewing’ whether to reduce the thousands of troops it has stationed in Germany, President Donald Trump has announced via social media. His remarks came days after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticised his approach to the war in Iran, suggesting that US had been ‘humiliated’ by Iranian negotiators. Trump said in a social media post late on Wednesday that a decision on troop numbers would be made ‘over the next short period of time. Then early on Thursday he rounded on Merz, saying he should ‘spend more time on ending the war with Russia/Ukraine (Where he has been totally ineffective!).’ The BBC has reached out to the White House for comment. The US has a significant military presence in Germany, with more than 36,000 active duty troops assigned to bases across the country as of last December.” (04/30/26)
“A swing-seat congressional primary in Nebraska that’s already swarming with outside spending has a new twist with a familiar ring. Big money from a pro-Israel super PAC was en route to help its preferred candidate, but the ham-fisted attempt to conceal that support may backfire on its intended beneficiary, centrist New Democrat–endorsed candidate Denise Powell. Since mid-March, outside groups have spent $2.93 million (as of April 29) in Nebraska’s Second Congressional District, supporting Powell and opposing state Sen. John Cavanaugh, a populist candidate with an extensive personal and family political history in the Omaha region that the district encompasses. Cavanaugh had been the early favorite in the race for the open seat vacated by Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) and won by Democrats in the last two presidential elections. The nearly $3 million already poured into the contest is an enormous amount for the relatively modest media market of Omaha and environs.” (04/30/26)
“Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Thursday that she wouldn’t let the U.S. meddle in the country’s affairs, and that her attorney general would investigate allegations from a New York court indictment accusing 10 Mexican current and former officials of working with the Sinaloa Cartel to traffic drugs. The indictment named a number of sitting officials in Sinaloa, including members of Sheinbaum’s progressive Morena party, fueling a political firestorm at a time when Sheinbaum has sought to offset U.S. pressures while appeasing her own base. Shortly after, Mexico’s government said that it had seen extradition request from the U.S. for 10 citizens, without naming them. The highest profile official implicated was Sinaloa Gov. Rubén Rocha Moya, a top Morena official and close ally of Sheinbaum’s mentor and predecessor, former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.” (04/30/26)
“The Supreme Court striking down Democrat racism in the drawing of Congressional districts set off a predictable wave of panic across the Left [sic], as the concept of having to make a case to voters who aren’t simply blindly loyal to the party began to sink in. … they absolutely refuse to have a conversation with an American who will not bow down to their left-wing [sic] agenda. Why? Because they can’t. There is no case to be made by the Left [sic] to normal people, so they refuse to and have created districts of the obedient to serve the party, as nothing scares the hell out of a Democrat more than having to compete for anything based on merit.” (04/30/26)
“The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) racked up a $1.2 million tab at D.C.’s five-star Salamander Hotel during a lobbying trip to oppose President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a new report from the Center for Union Facts (CUF) found. Social media posts show that SEIU members from around the country converged in Washington, D.C., between June 23 and June 29, 2025, to confront lawmakers and stage protests against the tax and spending cuts under consideration in Congress. Department of Labor disclosures logged on June 30, 2025, reveal that the union spent $1.2 million of members’ dues at the Salamander Hotel to cover a series of expenses labeled as ‘support for political activities.'” (04/30/26)
“The Minnesota House of Representatives introduced a bill that could penalize cities and counties for not flying the redesigned state flag. Members of Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) party pushed legislation Monday to reduce state aid to a county or city that ‘flies or otherwise makes use of a state flag other than the design of the state flag as certified in the report of the State Emblems Redesign Commission.’ If passed, the bill would go into effect in 2027. Fox News Digital reached out to Minnesota state House members and the speaker of the House for comment. The bill followed several cities and communities in recent years voting in favor of returning to the original state flag, which was adopted in 1893. On the same day the bill was introduced, the Inver Grove Heights City Council voted to join Elk River, Champlin, Zumbrota and Plainview in flying the original flag on city buildings.” (04/30/26)
“Soaring oil prices from the Iran war pushed inflation higher in Europe in April, as growth continued to underperform in a worrying combination both for consumers and policymakers at the European Central Bank. Annual inflation in the eurozone — the 21 countries that use the shared euro currency — rose to 3% from 2.6% in March, fueled by a 10.9% increase in energy prices, the European Union statistical agency Eurostat reported Thursday. Crude oil is trading above $120 per barrel, up from around $73 before the outbreak of the war on Feb. 28. Meanwhile, eurozone growth for the first three months of the year disappointed with a marginal increase in economic output of 0.1% over the quarter before.” (04/30/26)
“This May Day, we are sounding the alarm. On a plane, ‘Mayday’ is a distress call. When a pilot says it three times into the radio — ’Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!’ — they’re saying we need help, we need it now, we cannot do this alone. We are calling Mayday because billionaires and corporations have rigged the rules, authoritarianism is tightening its grip, and because the people facing the sharpest edge of both cannot fight alone. Here in Florida, anti-immigrant laws weaponize fear in workplaces and neighborhoods. Attacks on free speech and public education are routine. The category of ‘“criminal’ expands year after year, absorbing more of our neighbors into a carceral system designed not only to punish, but to discipline labor, suppress wages, and push millions into precarity. This week, hundreds of us are gathering in Miami for two days of public testimony, training, and action.” (04/29/26)
“In the last year, coverage of former FBI Director James Comey appears to be reverting to the level of a high school yearbook. Last March, we were discussing how Comey channeled Beyoncé in a classified meeting and then may have revealed a code name in an encore performance for family. Now we are back to discussing Comey’s beach shell art on social media. The latter controversy is now at the heart of a second criminal indictment of Comey. … The problem with this indictment will be the merits. The indictment concerns an image that was later removed by Comey showing ’86 47′ in shells on a beach.” (04/28/26)
