President Trump Extends Ceasefire With Iran, Maintains Blockade

This as the leadership in Iran is in sufficient disarray to muddle the prospects of a summit, with questions as to who would represent the nation and whether anything agreed upon actually means anything. President Trump on Tuesday afternoon: Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so and, upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan, we have been asked to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal. I have therefore directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other (Truth). Wall Street Journal: The move came after Vice President JD Vance paused plans to travel to Pakistan on Tuesday for negotiations with Iran over ending the war, highlighting uncertainty about possible talks. Regional mediators led by Pakistan raced to try to convince Iran to join the talks (Wall Street Journal).

US Seizes Control of Iranian Oil Tanker

From the Department of War: Overnight, U.S. forces conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding of the stateless sanctioned M/T Tifani without incident in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility.

As we have made clear, we will pursue global maritime enforcement efforts to disrupt illicit networks and interdict sanctioned vessels providing material support to Iran—anywhere they operate.

International waters are not a refuge for sanctioned vessels. The Department of War will continue to deny illicit actors and their vessels freedom of maneuver in the maritime domain (War). Los Angeles Times: The Tifani was captured in the Bay of Bengal — between India and Southeast Asia — and was carrying Iranian oil, according to a U.S. defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing military operation. The U.S. military will decide in the next four days what to do with the vessel, such as tow it back to the U.S. or turn it over to another country, the official said (Los Angeles Times).

Hugh Hewitt: ‘We cannot have another Munich’

Hugh is referring to the summit on the eve of World War II where European leaders appeased Hitler and British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain returned, boasting infamously, “it is peace for our time.” Hugh on Tuesday: The danger is that America (meaning, of course, President Trump) accepts half or even three-quarters of a loaf of a “deal,” instead of demanding the capitulation of the rump regime in Iran…. President Trump should settle for nothing less than Iran’s abandonment of enrichment forever, the return of the “nuclear dust” to American control, an end to ballistic missile production and to support for terrorists, Iran’s “lunatics,” as Secretary Marco Rubio bluntly described them this week. The people of Iran must have their basic human rights restored…. President Trump’s place in history depends upon his resolve right now, as does — and far more importantly — freedom for the Iranian people and stability for the entire region. It is not too much to say that the next many decades for the whole world depend upon the president’s resolve this week and next. We cannot have another Munich (Fox News).

Virginia Voters Narrowly Approve Redistricting Measure

That will likely give Democrats four additional seats in the House. The vote was close: 51 percent affirming the measure, 49 percent rejecting it (New York Times). Virginian-Pilot: Democrats hoping to flip Republican control of the U.S. House of Representatives in this year’s midterm elections scored an advantage Tuesday with Virginia’s approval of congressional redistricting likely to net them four additional seats (Pilot). Ken Cuccinelli—formerly the Attorney General for the Commonwealth—summarized the court challenges ahead: The “yes” vote has won Va’s redistricting referendum — but the legal fight is just beginning. Four Va Constitutional challenges are now teed up: THREE challenges to the amendment process itself: 1: First passage was invalid. The amendment was taken up during a special session convened in 2024 for budget purposes…. 2. Art. XII, §1 requires that after first passage, a proposed amendment be “referred to the General Assembly at its first regular session held after the next general election of members of the House of Delegates.” … 3: Art. XII, §1 requires the amendment be submitted to voters “not sooner than ninety days after final passage by the General Assembly.” 4: Art. II, §6 requires that “every electoral district shall be composed of contiguous and compact territory.” The proposed congressional maps violate this contiguity requirement (rather badly). Next stop, court. Stay tuned (Cuccinelli).

Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick Abruptly Resigns Before Ethics Committee Hearing Begins

Perhaps the facts wouldn’t look too good under the bright light of scrutiny. The Hill: The stunning announcement came just moments before the House Ethics Committee was scheduled to stage a public hearing to weigh potential penalties for the embattled Florida Democrat, who is facing federal charges over allegations of stealing millions of dollars from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help fund her congressional campaign. Cherfilus-McCormick has maintained her innocence….  “Rather than play these political games, I choose to step away so that I can devote my time to fighting for my neighbors in Florida’s 20th district. I hereby resign from the 119th Congress, effective immediately,” she added (The Hill). New York Post sums up the very serious allegations for which she will still need to answer for in court:  Cherfilus-McCormick had failed congressional bids in 2018 and 2020 — but won a January 2022 special election in Florida’s deep-blue 20th Congressional District to replace the late Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.). Before then, she had triumphed in a Democratic primary by just five votes over her next-closest competitor in November 2021. During those campaigns, $5.7 million in government funding was funneled to a consulting firm “wholly owned” by Cherfilus-McCormick between March 2021 and October 2022, before it was voluntarily dissolved, a House ethics report determined in January. Of that sum, a total of $3.6 million reached Cherfilus-McCormick’s campaign coffers, according to ethics investigators (New York Post).

Speaker Johnson Calls for Tightening of Sexual Harassment Rules in House; ‘I will lead that myself’

It is clearly needed and the Speaker is a good man for the task. Washington Times: House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday that he will lead the cause to clamp down on sexual misconduct in Congress, after the resignations of two lawmakers accused of such allegations. “We are looking at every potential avenue to tighten up the rules and make sure that women have an avenue to report,” the Louisiana Republican said at a press conference. Reports of sexual misconduct have been at the forefront of Congress recently, including Reps. Eric Swalwell, California Democrat, and Tony Gonzales, Texas Republican, resigning last week over misconduct allegations. In turn, Mr. Johnson said he is keen to improve safety mechanisms for victims of sexual misconduct….. “I will lead that myself,” said Mr. Johnson, who has two daughters who work as committee staff. Doing so is “very serious to me. I’m a father,” he added (Washington Times). Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) has been a squeaky wheel in recent days. From her column Tuesday: Awareness is not the problem. The blatant absence of accountability is. When misconduct is tolerated in this way, it sends a message that members of Congress operate under a different standard to the people they represent…. The bottom line is that a process that delays accountability to that extent does not deter misconduct, it enables it. Serious reform is long overdue (Spectator).

Senate Holds Hearing for Kevin Warsh, Trump’s Pick to Chair Federal Reserve

With Elizabeth Warren thinking she was very clever in asking him whether he was going to be Trump’s “sock puppet.” Warsh is clearly well-suited for the position. Also: He served on the Fed Board from 2006 to 2011 (Bio: Hoover). Larry Kudlow: Kevin Warsch will bring a gust of fresh air to the Federal Reserve…. In his testimony, Warsh said, and I’ll quote, “Low inflation is the Fed’s plot armor, its vital protection against slings and arrows. So when inflation surges as it has done in recent years, grievous harm is done to our citizens, especially to the least well off”…. He will bring a much needed gust of fresh air to the Central Bank. Now let’s get him over the finish line as fast as possible (Fox Business). Notably: Mr. Warsh is not expected to advance immediately out of the Senate committee because Sen. Thom Tillis, North Carolina Republican, said he plans to block the nomination until the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia drops a criminal investigation of Mr. Powell tied to the multibillion-dollar renovation of the Fed’s Washington headquarters. A Republican defection would be enough to derail Mr. Warsh’s nomination. To advance, he must earn a majority of votes on the committee, which comprises 13 Republicans and 11 Democrats. If Mr. Tillis votes against the nominee, the panel would be evenly split at 12-12, and Mr. Warsh’s nomination would fail (Washington Times).

House Releases Interim Report on ActBlue: Staffers Plead the Fifth Over Nearly 150 Times

The accountability that we’re seeing for the Democratic fundraising giant—it’s worth highlighting—is because of the GOP majority in the House. Bob Hoge at RedState: ActBlue is one of the is one of the biggest leftist fundraising platforms in the land, and it’s long been the subject of scrutiny and criticism from conservatives, who argue that it doesn’t vet the huge number of small donor donations it receives and is a major conduit for foreign money to affect our elections. It’s taken in over $16 billion since its founding in 2004. They, of course, cry innocent at every turn, but they acted awfully suspiciously in front of congressional hearings, according to a bombshell joint interim staff report from the Judiciary, Administration, and Oversight committees released Monday. If you have nothing to hide, why the silence? And when I say silence, I mean a complete refusal to answer questions from Congress — almost 150 times. Certainly not a good look (Red State). More from Matt Margolis at PJ Media: The report states that every member of the legal and compliance team “appears to have left the platform after the 2024 election because of its ‘knowing and willful’ acceptance of illegal foreign contributions, and the subsequent cover-up.” Every. Single. One. (PJ Media). The interim report: (Judiciary).

Southern Poverty Law Center Indicted on Fraud Charges, Allegedly Paid Hate Groups

There is a dark irony at the center of this story: SPLC has long presented itself as watchdog over hate groups. It’s never really been that, but it’s how they’ve billed themselves. Now: It is alleged they’ve paid millions to groups like the Ku Klux Klan. Hypocrisy is too soft a word. AP: The Justice Department alleges the civil rights group defrauded donors by using their money to fund the very extremism it claimed to be fighting, with more than $3 million paid to informants through a now-defunct program to infiltrate white supremacist and other extremist groups. Prosecutors allege some of the money was used by extremists to carry out other crimes, but court papers did not include specific examples. “The SPLC was not dismantling these groups. It was instead manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose by paying sources to stoke racial hatred,” Blanche said (AP). John Sexton at Hot Air: for years, the SPLC was raising money to fight hate while it was also sending thousands of dollars to people like the National President of American Front who’d previously been convicted of a cross burning (Hot Air).

Today: Earth Day 2026

Setting aside the neo-pagan religiosity of the today’s environmentalism, Earth Day makes for a good time to reflect on this beautiful planet, finely-tuned for life. It’s also a good time to reflect on the very fact that we are here at all—with the ability to reflect on life on this hospitable planet. Mathematician John Lennex does a good job of explaining how improbable it is that we are even here: It’s extremely improbable. I think a very good example of a reaction to an early form of fine-tuning was Sir Fred Hoyle, who was an atheist and who was my examiner at Cambridge, and he predicted a resonance in carbon, which was later discovered. And when it was discovered, his reaction was, “nothing shook my atheism like that discovery.” Now Sir Roger Penrose is one of the most brilliant mathematicians in the world, worked with Stephen Hawking and so on. And he has an analogy in his book where he says, “If you want the universe with the second law of thermodynamics, where even your Cadillac will rust, everything is running down. The creator’s aim—and those are his words—he’s not a believer in God. The Creator’s aim must be accurate to one part in 10 to the power 10 to the power 123 in order to get our universe. And many people have pointed out that if you put a one here and a zero of every elementary particle in the universe, you still can’t write that number out. In other words, the improbability is beyond our imagining (Uncommon Knowledge). Lennox and Stephen Meyer and others have collaborated on a feature film—in theaters April 30—“The Story of Everything” (Story). There is a shift in the scientific consensus. This film—years in the making—chronicles the science that reveals a mind behind the created order