Tuesday, March 31, 2026
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Italy has delayed its plan to close its coal-fired power stations by more than a decade as the Iran war drives up oil and gas prices and countries around the world turn back to coal. The Telegraph has the story.
In a significant reversal, the country will now continue to burn coal in at least one, and possibly up to three, power generation plants until 2038.
Italy’s move comes as countries around the world, including Japan, South Korea and Germany, are turning back to coal to alleviate the spiralling energy crisis.
Italy had planned to be one of the first countries in mainland Europe to phase out coal,
In the span of nine months, nine top-level scientists in the United States have died or vanished without a trace. Seven of them were connected to the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) or the institutions it directly funds.
AFRL develops and transitions the most sensitive aerospace technologies in the United States’ defense arsenal.
1) Monica Jacinto Reza vanished June 22, 2025 while hiking with friends in the Angeles National Forest in California. She was last seen waving to a hiking companion approximately 30 feet behind the group. Despite an extensive search involving helicopters, drones, and canine units, only a beanie and lip balm were recovered, and her body was never found.
I was just getting ready to wrap up my day and kick back with a little Golden Girls and ginger ale zero (living on the edge!), when I saw that Secretary of State Marco Rubio's schedule for tomorrow says he's meeting with Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado on Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. Admittedly, that made my heart sing a little bit. I know she is the future of that country, and I've become so invested in the future of that country that watching all the progress we're making unfold in real time is quite a thrill.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down a Colorado law banning “conversion therapy” for minors, ruling in a 8-1 decision that the law violates the First Amendment free speech rights of licensed counselors.
The Court’s majority found that the law favors one viewpoint by allowing counselors to affirm a client’s gender identity or sexual orientation, but preventing counselors from helping clients change their identity or orientation if they want to.
“Colorado may regard its policy as essential to public health and safety,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote on behalf of the majority. “But the First Amendment stands as a shield
Strait Man
replies
~As you know, in deference to the divergence of opinion among readers, we are now starting each column by linking to an alternative position to my own - that's to say, a pro-war analysis. (Snip) Meanwhile, back in what passes for the real world, the war aims continue to shrivel. (Snip) So a month ago Iran controlled four per cent of global oil. Now they control twenty per cent - and their parliament's plan is for the "Tehran toll-booth" to become a permanent fixture. Which would mean they control more of the world's oil than America.
The clock is running. The political landscape heading into the midterms is tightening. It demands clarity, discipline, and focus.
Early polling does not show a runaway advantage for either party. It shows a contest that remains within reach. That reality carries a blunt implication for Republicans. Victory will not come from diffuse messaging or broad, unfocused outreach.
It will come from consolidating and mobilizing the voters most likely to show up, as well as those most likely to support the party. That means building a precise, unapologetic coalition of MAGA voters and senior citizens.
The data leaves little room for interpretation.
A law enforcement officer showed up to the O’Keefe Media Group headquarters in West Palm Beach, Florida,
“Police showed up at my office looking for me,” James O’Keefe said.
“We don’t know what this is about,” he said.
“Nobody has been arrested in our recent videos. We have another coming tomorrow showing more crimes on tape,” he added. “I can promise you he’s not going to jail, it’s not a criminal act. Okay, that I can promise you, 100%, okay?” a detective from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said to OMG staffers.
What must Iran agree to in any cease-fire deal?
The headline concessions are obvious: Hand over all nuclear material, destroy all nuke capabilities, open the Strait of Hormuz and stop killing your own people.
(We’d add “destroy all missile capabilities,” but the US and Israeli strikes have already done most of that.)
Tehran would also need to commit to cooperate in serious verification and monitoring of its compliance, with the details to be worked out within a set number of weeks en route to a full peace agreement — but definitely to include “anywhere, anytime” inspections.
The price for peace should also include Tehran’s commitment to internal reforms:
President Trump shared jaw-dropping video footage Monday of a massive explosion in Iran reportedly caused by a US airstrike on a large ammunition depot in Isfahan.
A “high volume” of 2,000-pound bunker buster bombs was used in the strike posted by Trump on Truth Social, a US official told the Wall Street Journal.
The footage that caught the president’s eye is one of several videos of fiery blasts that have taken place in Isfahan, the country’s third-most populous city and the location of the majority of Tehran’s 60% enriched uranium as well as a sprawling “missile city”.
Gasoline prices are spiking everywhere, particularly in California, with premium coming dangerously close $9 a gallon last week in one Los Angeles neighborhood. So what’s an appointed bureaucrat to do? Find a crime, of course.
“Our team is vigilantly monitoring the retail, wholesale, and spot markets,” Tai Milder, first director of the Division of Petroleum Market Oversight (DPMO) for the California Energy Commission, announced last week, as gas prices were rising. “Any reports of unfair practices or market manipulation will be taken seriously, and we will not hesitate to refer any illegal conduct for further investigation and prosecution.”
If you're not paying attention to the Tyler Robinson case, you’d better start now. A fresh court filing just dropped a massive curveball in the assassination of Charlie Kirk. The filing claims that the bullet that killed Kirk last September doesn’t match the rifle that Robinson used. “As these cases indicate, determining the number of contributors to a DNA mixture and determining whether the FBI and the ATF reliably applied validated and correct scientific procedures... is a complicated process which requires the assistance of various types of experts, including forensic biologists, geneticists, system engineers and statisticians, all of whom must review and evaluate' several different categories,” the filing states.
Europe’s climate policies offer no relief
for gas prices, as oil-rich U.S. is somewhat shielded replies
for gas prices, as oil-rich U.S. is somewhat shielded replies
West Texas Intermediate oil prices, the U.S. benchmark, took a dip down to around $87 per barrel last week as President Donald Trump spoke of productive meetings with the leadership of Iran.
Then on Monday, the president claimed these discussions were ongoing, but he followed the statement up with threats to resume attacks on key petroleum, electricity and water infrastructure facilities.
“If the Hormuz Strait is not immediately ‘Open for Business,’ we will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!),
This is why Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent may well go down as the greatest Treasury Secretary of our lifetimes. Unlike the majority who have served in this cabinet position, Bessent is neither a figurehead nor there to maintain the status quo. He's become the financier equivalent of the military: killing, breaking, and blowing things up.
In the latest move to blow up the rampant fraud, waste, and abuse in government programs, particularly by foreign actors, Bessent is empowering financial institutions to report any and all suspicious financial activity to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
A court filing by Tyler Robinson’s defense on Friday reveals the ATF has not been able to “identify” the bullet recovered in the autopsy of slain Turning Point USA leader Charlie Kirk with the rifle allegedly used in the September 10 shooting at Utah Valley University, according to the Daily Mail. Kirk was reportedly killed instantly by a single rifle shot that tore through his upper body and ripped open the carotid artery in his neck.While not definitive (the bullet could be misshapen from the shooting), until it is resolved, the claim by the defense will fuel concerns about the circumstances of Kirk’s murder and whether Robinson was the shooter.
Are you sitting down? This is shocking news.
It turns out that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s new ‘free’ childcare program isn’t free at all. In fact, it’s going to cost $60,000 – Per child. Of course, it’ll be free for the people who get the service, but not for the taxpayers who are funding it.
This is the shell game that is always played by leftists. Nothing is free and they know it. Someone always pays.
Oh and by the way, this is just the rollout of the program. You know it will cost more down the road.The cost of “free” child care is soaring.
The rare quick and total victory over an enemy at little cost often ensures unquestioned political support in modern consensual societies.
In most cases, however, especially in the Western world, ongoing military success or failure is adjudicated through the lens of politics—in a way sometimes at odds with the reality of the battlefield.
Politicians answer to the people. The best do not drift with the prevailing winds. On the other hand, all must face elections, secure legislative support, and ultimately explain to voters the human and financial costs of a war and whether it was existential or optional—and, in the latter case, whether it was worth the costs.
The most recent Harvard-Harris poll had some intriguing elements, and you have to think the Democrats aren't going to like them.
We've seen constant doom posting from them and from the liberal media about Operation Epic Fury. If you believed what they're spewing out, you would think that we were losing badly and President Donald Trump had given up, when the reality is that we've been having unparalleled military success. Yes, there's more than just military success involved, but they're largely ignoring that. Indeed, if Iran is influenced
Gulf allies privately make the case to
Trump to keep fighting until Iran is decisively defeated replies
Trump to keep fighting until Iran is decisively defeated replies
WASHINGTON (AP) — Gulf allies of the United States, led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are urging President Donald Trump to continue prosecuting the war against Iran, arguing that Tehran hasn’t been weakened enough by the monthlong U.S.-led bombing campaign, according to U.S., Gulf and Israeli officials.
After private grumbling at the start of the war that they were not given adequate advance notice of the U.S.-Israeli attack and complaining the U.S. had ignored their warnings that the war would have devastating consequences for the entire region, some of the regional allies are making the case to the White House that the moment offers a historic opportunity
ANGELS CAMP, Calif.—Record-high gold prices hovering at about $5,000 per ounce have triggered a renewed interest in prospecting and mining and what could be the start of a mini gold rush in the California Mother Lode, according to local miners.
The historic belt of gold quartz veins in the Sierra Nevadas spawned the 19th-century gold rush and continues to draw modern prospectors.
The spike in gold prices has made small- and medium-scale mining operations more feasible, said Rusty Simpson, co-CEO of Meeting of the Mines Goldstrike Corp., based in Angels Camp.
Israeli parliament mandates death penalty
for most Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis replies
for most Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis replies
The Israeli Parliament passed a law Monday that approves the death penalty for Palestinians who are convicted of murdering Israeli citizens.
The legislation makes death by hanging the default punishment for Palestinians on Gaza's West Bank who are convicted of nationalistic killings of Jewish Israelis, according to the Associated Press, and Israeli military courts are directed to mete out the sentence to those convicted of murdering an Israeli “as an act of terror.”
It also allows courts to impose the death penalty or life imprisonment on Israeli citizens convicted of murdering other Israelis.
Comer claims US Census Bureau was incorrect
in 2020, costing Republicans multiple
House seats replies
in 2020, costing Republicans multiple
House seats replies
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said Monday his committee has received information showing the United States' Census Bureau in 2020 miscalculated the number of Americans in a way that cost Republicans multiple House seats.
Comer claimed the basic count was biased against Republicans because the bureau made estimations instead of doing a physical count during the COVID-19 pandemic, and estimated high in Democratic areas like major cities and underestimated in suburban areas known to be more friendly to Republicans.
"The basic count was miscounted grossly in the last census, to the tune of costing the Republicans anywhere from four to five congressional seat,
The Sham of 'Disarming' Hamas
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Hamas, like Iran, continues to treat the idea of disarmament with a mix of dismissal and rhetorical defiance, effectively signaling that it has no intention of giving up its weapons or altering its dream of eliminating Israel.
For Hamas, disarmament is not a serious proposal. Instead, it is a tool for political theater, a way to manipulate donors and tighten its grip over the Gaza Strip.
In Hamas's view, the establishment of Israel on any of this land is an illegal "Zionist project" and a form of colonial occupation.
When Hamas talks about "resistance" (Arabic: muqawama), it is referring to a comprehensive framework aimed at destroying Israel through a violent jihad (holy war),
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's lavish faux-royal tour of Colombia in 2024 was funded by none other than billionaire George Soros, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The duo spent four days in the South American country at the invitation of Vice President Francia Márquez, who, along with Markle, did not disclose the details about who paid the $3.8million bill from the spend-happy couple, author Tom Bower claims in his new book, Betrayal: Power, Deceit and the Fight for the Future of the Royal Family.
Just when you think the Senate GOP couldn’t get any more useless than it already is, its members find a way to prove you wrong.
While the SAVE America Act continues to languish, the Department of Homeland Security (including ICE and Border Patrol) remains unfunded, and dozens of Trump nominees await confirmation, Senate Majority Leader John Thune did what any typical Republican would do. He sent the upper chamber home on a two-week vacation.
The entirely predictable scenario came about after Senate Republicans agreed with Democrats to pass a DHS package devoid of ICE and Border Patrol funding