These are informational, rather than fun, except that Pete Buttigieg is fun even while serious. I’d like to see him run for something this time. Then, any time a very wealthy person thinks of others before themselves, it’s good news; Meals On Wheels is a fine thing.
MacKenzie Scott, worth $41.1 billion, is on a philanthropic tear and has donated an estimated 46% of her net worth.Dia Dipasupil / Staff / Getty Images
While billionairesย have come under fireย forย not living up to theirย philanthropic promises, one person is rising from the rest:ย MacKenzie Scott. Sheโs pouring billions into education, public health, and the environmentโand now, she just funneled some of her fortune to help feed and support millions of Americans.ย (snip-MORE)
He is disposed by maga. I am watching videos of it. He thinks he is going to follow Trump as president. The only way that Vance will ever be president is if Trump dies in office. He is a smarmy hateful man who is barely human who has no principles and will do anything for power. Hugs
JD Vance Gave A Speech To Almost No One And The Photos Are Wild
Awkwaaaard.
There’s gotta be something each of us wants to know, and likely are things we need to know but may not be covered by traditional or partisan news outlets. It’s long, of course.
Today, we will look at yesterdayโs congressional resignations, President Donald Trumpโs criticism of Pope Leo, and other news spanning each continent.
Letโs get to it.
United States
-Both Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell and Republican Congressman Tony Gonzalez resigned from the House of Representatives yesterday amid a slew of ethical and legal controversies related to sexual misconduct.
The House Clerk read their respective resignation letters on the floor, which were met by bipartisan applause.
Their departures leave the lower chamber with 216 Republicans and 213 Democrats.
-California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a proclamation yesterday setting the date for a special election to fill the remainder of Swalwellโs term for August 18.
-House Democrats introduced a bill that would establish a commission to assess whether President Donald Trump should be removed from office.
-Wholesale inflation rose to 4% in March, a four-year high, according to new data released yesterday.
The uptick was fueled by a 15.7% rise in gasoline prices, accounting for half of the increase due to the war in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, the average U.S. gas price stood at $4.11 yesterday, according to AAA.
-Senate Majority Leader John Thune said yesterday that Republicans โwould be prepared to confirmโ a nominee to the Supreme Court in the event of a retirement ahead of the midterm elections.
For weeks, rumors in Washington have circulated around whether Justice Samuel Alito could retire in the next several weeks.
The 76-year-old conservative has been on the Court since 2006 and is the second-oldest on the high court, behind Clarence Thomas.
-The Senate Banking Committee is expected to hold a confirmation hearing next Tuesday on Trumpโs nominee to lead the Federal Reserve.
-Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said yesterday that Trump is readying an executive order that would mandate U.S. banks to collect citizenship information.
-The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Connecticut and the city of New Haven over its sanctuary policies.
-The Republican National Committee (RNC) ended February with $109 million, seven times as much as its Democratic counterpart.
-Democratic Senate candidate Roy Cooper raised more than $13.8 million in the first quarter of the year.
-Trump said that he was โnot a big fanโ of Riley Gaines after the conservative activist criticized his posting of an AI-generated image depicting himself as Jesus.
-Streamer Hasan Piker called the Republican Party the โbiggest domestic terroristโ group in the country on Pod Save America.
The comment comes as Democrats wrestle with whether to welcome or distance themselves from the content creator ahead of this yearโs elections.
-Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, a prospective 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, will be honored by the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund in Washington this weekend.
-Former President Joe Bidenโs official portrait was unveiled yesterday at Syracuse University.
-Authorities in Nigeriaย apprehended a 33-member gangย allegedly responsible for abducting 38 people at a church in the countryโs central Kwara state in November.
The arrest is part of the central governmentโs crackdown on criminal groups.
-Libyaโs eastern- and western-based administrations participated in military exercises hosted by the United States for the first time on Tuesday.
Since the ouster of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the North African country has been rocked by civil conflict and divided government authority, with competing geographic factions vying for territorial control since 2014.
-On this day in 1958, the First Conference of Independent African States was held in Accra, Ghana, bringing together the leaders of the eight independent African nations at the time to coordinate their opposition to colonialism and foster continental unity.
At the gathering, the leaders designated April 15 as โAfrican Freedom Day.โ
In 1963, the Organization of African Unity moved the date to May 25.
In 2023, civil war broke out in Sudan after the countryโs army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) descended into a battle for control of the capital, Khartoum.
Since then, the country has been gripped by widespread death and disease.
According to some estimates, there have been at least 150,000 deaths since the war broke out, with some 14 million more people having been displaced.
According to the United Nations, an estimated 19 million people, or about 41% of the population, are facing โhigh levels of acute food insecurity.โ
-Brazilian President Luiz Inรกcio Lula da Silvaย calledย for the extradition of former spy chief Alexandre Ramagem after he was apprehended in the United States.
Ramagem fled Brazil after he was convicted of his role in plotting a coup with now-former President Jair Bolsonaro following his 2022 election defeat.
Bolsonaro is currently serving a 27-year prison term.
-On this day in 1959, Fidel Castro visited the United States, just four months after successfully leading a revolution that toppled Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista.
-North Korea carried out another test of its strategic cruise and anti-warship missiles on Sunday as relations between Pyongyang and South Korea continue to deteriorate.
-Five countries in the Indo-Pacific will participate in U.S.-led military exercises in the region starting next week.
The drills, which will run from April 20 to May 8, come as U.S. allies in the region worry that Washingtonโs strategic focus has shifted from Asia to the Middle East amid its conflict with Iran.
Australia, Canada, France, the Philippines, and New Zealand will contribute forces to the multilateral effort.
-Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. did a few rounds of jumping jacks in a bid to dispel rumors of his failing health.
-The United Nations said that around 250 people are missing after a boat carrying Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi nationals capsized in the Andaman Sea due to heavy winds.
-On this day in 1998, Pol Pot died in his sleep.
During his four-year rule over Cambodia, his Khmer Rouge regime carried out a genocide against the Cambodian people, killing an estimated 1.5 to 3 million people, accounting for nearly one-quarter of the Southeast Asian nationโs population.
-Days after President Trump criticized Pope Leo for his opposition to Washingtonโs war against Iran, the Vatican issued a statement warning the advanced democracies risked sliding into โmajoritarian tyranny,โ a seemingly veiled shot at Trumpโs populist movement.
-In an interview with an Italian newspaper, Trump said that he was โshockedโ by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloniโs opposition to his decision to launch a military operation against Iran, representing a break between the conservative allies.
In response to Meloni calling his attacks on the Pope โunacceptable,โ Trump said, โItโs her whoโs unacceptable.โ
-Trump called on the United Kingdom to drill oil from the North Sea to offset surging global energy prices.
-U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will once again skip a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group today. Instead, the Pentagonโs policy chief, Elbridge Colby, will attend in his place.
A meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in June 2022.
The grouping of over 50 defense chiefs seeks to coordinate military assistance to Ukraine as it wards off invading Russian forces.
The forum was established in April 2022 just after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since assuming office, the Trump administration has delegated its leadership role in the body.
-French President Emmanuel Macron said he would seek a coordinated approach to ban minors from using social media across the 27-member European Union.
-On this day in 1452, Leonardo da Vinci was born in Italy.
In 1912, the RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic.
Shortly after the U.S. and Israel launched a joint military operation against Iran on February 28, the Israeli military began striking Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, ending a teetering ceasefire agreement.
According to estimates, the fighting has killed around 2,000 people and displaced over one million people in Lebanon.
Meanwhile, President Trump said yesterday that talks with Iran could resume as early as this week.
Last weekend, Vice President JD Vance led a U.S. delegation for talks with Iranian officials in Pakistan. After those talks broke down, Trump said that he would impose a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz in a bid to get Iran to agree to a long-term agreement to settle the war and to place limits on its nuclear program.
Vance appeared on Fox News on Monday to discuss the talks.
It is believed that Iran has planted mines in the strategic waterway, and Tehran has threatened to attack ports belonging to Arab Gulf states if its ports are attacked.
Prior to the recent war in the region, the Strait served as a conduit for 20% of the worldโs daily oil consumption.
The 76-year-old, who has dominated politics in Israel for the better part of the past two decades, is expected to seek another term in office in parliamentary elections due by late October.
Last week, a long-running public corruption trial against Netanyahu restarted after pausing due to the war.
-On this day in 1993, President Bill Clinton hosted Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in the Oval Office to discuss the Middle East peace process.
Later that year, Clinton would host Rabin, along with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, at the White House for the signing of the Oslo Accords, establishing a framework for the eventual settlement of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
In 1995, Rabin was assassinated as he departed a peace rally in Tel Aviv by an Israeli radical angry over Rabinโs peace overtures to the Palestinians.
Speaking at Rabinโs funeral service in Jerusalem, Clinton said, โYour Prime Minister was a martyr for peace, but he was a victim of hate. Surely we must learn from his martyrdom that if people cannot let go of the hatred of their enemies, they risk sowing the seeds of hatred among themselves.โ
โNo peaceโ: Nearly a year after her sonโs death, she learned that ICE was responsible
Ruben Ray Martinez is considered the first person to be killed by ICE during President Trumpโs second term. His mother believes his death could have been avoided.
some really cool fiction. We all need a brain cleanser, and this is short and sweet.The bit underneath the End emojis is in German, though your device may translate, which will be a duplicate. I included the German in case someone will enjoy that one, too.
โI guess so, look at how he is jumping around!โ
โLike a rabbit on speed!โ
โThere is this rumour he had trouble with drugs back in the โ80s.โ
โIs that when he started building thisโฆ this wellโฆ I know itโs what they called a house on earthโ
โYes, I remember when he pulled the whole planet out of the other dimension. I think he had planned to build the house on the planet but of course, thatโs not possible. You canโt build from one dimension to another. โ
โBut itโs in this dimension!!!!โ
โNo, itโs not. See thatโs the problem with quantum physics. Nothing is how it seems.โ
โAh. So he got frustrated and into drugs?โ
โProbably.โ
โHe managed somehow thoughโฆโ
โAs we can see but he has a planet stuck on his entrance door.โ
โIch glaube schon, schau mal, wie er da herumhรผpft!โ
โWie ein Kaninchen auf Speed!โ
โEs gibt dieses Gerรผcht, dass er in den 80ern Probleme mit Drogen hatte.โ
โIst das die Zeit, als er angefangen hat, dieses โฆ dieses โฆ nun ja โฆ ich weiร, man nennt so etwas auf der Erde ein Haus.โ
โJa, ich erinnere mich, als er den ganzen Planeten aus der anderen Dimension geholt hat. Ich glaube, er hatte vor, das Haus auf dem Planeten zu bauen, aber das ist natรผrlich nicht mรถglich. Man kann nicht von einer Dimension in eine andere bauen.โ
โAber es ist doch in dieser Dimension!!!!โ
โNein, tut es nicht. Siehst du, das ist das Problem mit der Quantenphysik. Nichts ist so, wie es scheint.โ
โAh. Also war er frustriert und hat mit Drogen angefangen?โ
โWahrscheinlich.โ
โEr hat es aber irgendwie geschafft โฆโ
โWie wir sehen kรถnnen, aber er hat einen Planeten an seiner Eingangstรผr hรคngen.โ
Trump wrote, โPope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy. He talks about โfearโ of the Trump Administration, but doesnโt mention the FEAR that the Catholic Church, and all other Christian Organizations, had during COVID when they were arresting priests, ministers, and everybody else, for holding Church Services, even when going outside. I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA.โ (snip-MORE)
Iโm not religious so the fact that Trump posted an image showing himself as Jesus doesnโt personally insult me. But some of the criticism have described his actions as blasphemous, which I think is dangerous territory for a secular society. There are countries which have blasphemy laws that have led to horrendous murders, just because someoneโs religious sensibilities have been offended. It has no place in a democracy. What Americans ought to be outraged about was the gaslighting response Trump gave to a reporter when asked about the image. Either he was lying through his teeth or his dementia is further along than I thought.
Hereโs an cartoon from 2020 when Trump pandered to Christian voters by demanding governors open houses of worship during the Covid pandemic shutdown.
Yesterday, after posting a tirade against the Pope on Truth Social, Donald Trump shared an AI-created image of himself as Jesus Christ. A lot of people didn’t take kindly to this, probably because Donald Trump posted a picture of himself as Jesus Christ.
Asย The New York Timesย describes it, โThe image had showed Mr. Trump (sic) dressed in white and red robes, with the presidentโs hands emitting shining lights. His right hand was touching the forehead of a man lying on a bed in a hospital gown, evoking religious art that depicts Jesus healing the sick.โ (snip-MORE)
Scottie's Playtime 
