Tuesday, April 21, 2026
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The government of Peru finalized the sign a contract to purchase 12 F-16 Block 70 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin after several days of uncertainty and tensions with the United States that had cast doubt over the deal, according to Peruvian media reports. The signing reportedly took place privately at Las Palmas Air Base on Monday, despite the interim administration of President José María Balcázar having announced suspension of negotiations Friday. The initial agreement includes the acquisition of Fighting Falcons under the United States Foreign Military Sales program. The comprehensive package includes weapons, radar systems and logistical support, with an estimated value of $3.42 billion.
Virginia voters on Tuesday approved a redistricting referendum that will allow the state legislature to redraw its congressional maps outside the normal cycle in a manner expected to favor Democrats.
The Associated Press called the contest in favor of the yes campaign just before 9:00 p.m., with 84% of precincts reporting. As of press time, "yes" stood at just over 50% of the vote.
The state currently has six Democratic members of Congress and five Republicans. The planned Democratic map is expected to produce 10 Democratic-leaning seats and one Republican-leaning seat.
Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.
The Supreme Court is notoriously hard to crack.
But now a bombshell new book is exposing the secret goings-on behind the scenes, including scathing tales about Justices from their former staff.
In her forthcoming book, Alito: The Justice Who Reshaped the Supreme Court and Restored the Constitution, conservative journalist and author Mollie Hemingway lifts the lid on the justices' treatment of clerks.
The book is focused on Justice Samuel Alito - who has been the author of opinions defending gun rights and limiting the power of labor unions during his time on the bench and has recently been rumored to be mulling an exit from the Supreme Court.
Each justice usually
The Department of Justice announced Tuesday that a grand jury indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center for making fraudulent payments of millions of dollars to members of the Ku Klux Klan and other neo-Nazi organizations.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said at a news conference that the 11-count indictment filed in an Alabama federal court alleged the left-wing nonprofit had in the past decade paid at least $3 million to eight members of the far-right groups.
One leader of the 2017 Unite the Right protest in Charlottesville, Va., received roughly $270,000 over an eight-year period. Neither that person nor others were identified in the 14-page indictment.
President Trump extended his cease-fire with Iran Tuesday afternoon — after an American negotiating team led by Vice President JD Vance delayed plans to travel to Pakistan for a second round of peace talks.
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“I have therefore directed our Military to continue the Blockade and,
Employees at top secret government labs have suddenly disappeared without a trace across the US, leaving many questioning how and why it has happened.
The circumstances in certain cases have been eerily similar, with three people who all worked in New Mexico suddenly leaving their houses on foot without taking wallets, IDs or essentials with them. A fourth person, an aerospace engineer in California, disappeared on a hiking trail, feet away from her friends.
One common thread links their work — a retired US Air Force Major General who also left his home on foot on the morning of Feb. 27–
Who will replace former Rep. Eric Swalwell? It won’t be some white guy. Here’s the list of candidates.
In attendance were Democrats Aisha Wahab, Melissa Hernandez, Carin Elam, Rakhi Israni and Matt Ortega, as well as Republican Wendy Huang. Dublin resident Dena Maldonado, a Republican on the ballot, bowed out Sunday afternoon. San Leandro City Councilmember Victor Aguilar Jr., a Democrat, and newcomer Suzanne Chenault, listed with no party preference, did not respond to invitations to join the debate.
Aisha Wahab, an Afghan Muslim, appears to have the inside track and is holding the process ‘hostage’.
On Tuesday, another news item dropped that will have conservatives (and probably a fair number of moderates) chuckling for the rest of the day. (snip) Now, we learn that the SPLC has not only been encouraging real white supremacist and racist groups, but they have been funding them. And now, they have been indicted on 11 counts of wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Acting AG Blanche and FBI Director Patel made the announcement:
Thousands of Palisades and Eaton fire
rebuilding permits approved after Trump’s
executive order replies
rebuilding permits approved after Trump’s
executive order replies
President Trump’s executive order to fast-track the rebuilding of Los Angeles after the wildfires has resulted in almost 2,000 permits approved since it was signed in January, The Post can exclusively reveal.
Trump’s order let state and local rules be preempted when it came to obtaining permits and allowed builders to “self-certify” that they have complied with “substantive health, safety and building standards.”
The result of the administration’s take over was the approval of thousands of permits for people to begin the rebuilding process of homes and businesses ravaged by the January 2025 Pacific Palisades and Eaton fires, two of the most destructive blazes in LA history.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy touted some of the first successes of a massive, multibillion-dollar air traffic system modernization effort during a summit at department headquarters in Washington, DC, on Tuesday.
Thousands of outdated telecommunications equipment like radios and phones are being swapped for brand-new models. Hundreds of radars are being upgraded. And the paper flight strips used by air traffic controllers to guide flights are getting ditched for new electronic ones — all accessible on one computer screen, Duffy and other officials said.
As of this month, nearly 50% of the old copper wires powering critical communications between air traffic controllers and pilots have also been replaced with
Democrats are out of control. It's time to admit they have a problem and seek help. In recent days, several Democratic lawmakers have come under fire for excessive drinking—but not in a fun way.
Eric Swalwell, the former congressman and notorious degenerate accused of sexual assault, routinely used campaign funds to pay for alcohol. Swalwell placed more than a hundred orders on Drizly, the now-defunct alcohol delivery app, between 2020 and 2024. His prolific booze purchases accounted for almost 25 percent of Drizly payments by political campaigns, campaign committees, and PACs during that period, according to federal election records.
Another day, another Chinese national in the United States, busted for doing something he shouldn't have been doing. This time it was a Chinese national, photographing aircraft at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. The post reads in full:
A 21-year-old Chinese national, Tianrui Liang, has been arrested and is facing charges after photographing a U.S. “doomsday plane” and other military aircraft without authorization at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. He was taken into custody at JFK Airport following the incident.
It's easy to look at the gun control laws passed in another state and think, "Well, at least it doesn't impact me." I vehemently oppose what's happened in California over the years, just as I vehemently oppose what's happened in Virginia in 2026, but since it doesn't affect me here in Georgia, it's easy to let it go when the dust settles. The problems really get started when those terrible ideas don't stay put, but are instead pushed onto the rest of the nation.
In other words, remember reading about all of those new Virginia gun control laws and how much they suck? Their senators are trying to implement them
The average immigrant pays more in taxes than the average paid by U.S. children, disabled people, retirees, students, and employees, says a cherry-picked report from the Cato Institute.
The cherry-picked report is intended to insert a headline into the minds of busy politicians and lazy reporters who are facing competing pressures from pro-migration corporate lobbyists and from pro-prosperity Americans.
The April 15 Cato report is headlined: “Immigrants Pay More In Taxes Than the Average Person.”
But the key trick in the Cato report is to quietly transfer many migration costs onto Americans. For example, the report celebrates the value of taxes paid by working migrants — but then quietly forces Americans to pay
The Cabinet of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi approved new guidelines that pave the way for a wider range of arms exports, including domestically developed warships, combat drones and other military equipment.
The move has been welcomed by key defence partners such as Australia and has drawn interest from countries in Southeast Asia and Europe. US Ambassador to Japan George Glass described it as a "historic step" that would strengthen defence cooperation between allies. However, China strongly criticised the decision, warning that the international community would oppose what it called Japan's shift toward militarism.
Israel Flores Ortiz, an 18-year-old illegal immigrant from El Salvador, was sentenced Tuesday to 360 days in prison after being convicted earlier this month of groping several girls at Fairfax County High School.
Originally accused of groping 13 female classmates, Flores Ortiz was convicted on nine counts of misdemeanor assault, found not guilty on three counts, and had one charge dropped.
Flores Ortiz has ten days to appeal the sentence. Including the time he has already served, Flores Ortiz has 135 days left on his sentence.
After Flores Ortiz completes his sentence, he will serve two years of probation.
What to know
POSSIBLE PEACE TALKS: President Donald Trump has sounded positive about new peace talks despite uncertainty over Tehran's participation. "We’re going to end up with a great deal," Trump said this morning, adding that Iran had "no choice" but to send a delegation to Pakistan. Vice President JD Vance will likely head to Islamabad today, a source told NBC News.
IRAN WON'T NEGOTIATE 'UNDER THREAT': Trump also said that he was ready to resume bombing if talks don't go well as tomorrow’s ceasefire deadline looms. Iran's top negotiator warned it will not negotiate "under the shadow of threat" and has prepared "new cards
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee joined Starbucks leadership Tuesday to announce that the company will open a corporate office in Nashville. The announcement was officially made at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center on Peabody Street at 9 a.m. Jeff Hite of the Nashville Chamber of Commerce welcomed members of the media to the new office location for Starbucks. “Welcome to Peabody Union... the future home of Starbucks’ Nashville office,” Hite said. Lee spoke a short time later and added that the Starbucks announcement comes along with a $100 million capital investment and approximately 2,000 jobs. “This is because of
Southern Poverty Law Center says it faces
a Justice Department criminal probe over
paid informants replies
a Justice Department criminal probe over
paid informants replies
WASHINGTON — The Southern Poverty Law Center says it’s the subject of a criminal investigation by the Justice Department and faces possible charges over its past use of paid informants to infiltrate extremist groups.
The civil rights group made the announcement on Tuesday, saying President Donald Trump’s administration appears to be preparing legal action against it or some of its employees.
“Although we don’t know all the details, the focus appears to be on the SPLC’s prior use of paid confidential informants to gather credible intelligence on extremely violent groups,” CEO Bryan Fair said in a statement.
The Justice Department had no immediate comment.
Washington — Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida resigned from Congress on Tuesday, moments before the House Ethics Committee was set to determine whether she should be sanctioned for allegations of theft and other misconduct.
Cherfilus-McCormick has been charged with stealing nearly $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds for her campaign and has pleaded not guilty. She was likely to be expelled from the House in the coming days if she had not resigned.
"This was not a fair process," Cherfilus-McCormick said in a statement. "Rather than play these political games, I choose to step away so that I can devote my time to fighting for my neighbors
US forces board Iran-linked oil tanker
in Bay of Bengal as Pentagon ramps up
maritime crackdown replies
in Bay of Bengal as Pentagon ramps up
maritime crackdown replies
US forces have boarded an oil tanker previously sanctioned for smuggling Iranian crude oil in Asia, the Pentagon said Tuesday, as it puts into place a global warning to track down vessels tied to Tehran.
US forces "conducted a right-of-visit maritime interdiction" and boarded the M/T Tifani "without incident," the Pentagon said on social media.The Tifani was captured in the Bay of Bengal - between India and Southeast Asia - and was carrying Iranian oil, according to a US defence official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing military operation.
The US military will decide in the next four days what to do with the vessel,
The leftists at ActBlue got some ’splainin’ to do. Of course, that’s hard to do when you’re taking the Fifth.
The Democrats’ favorite — and allegedly crooked — fundraising platform is under greater scrutiny in the latest joint interim staff report from the House’s Administration, Judiciary, and Oversight and Government Committees. The report, “Fraud on ActBlue, Part II: Illicit Foreign Donations and a Cover-Up Spur Mass Resignations and Firings on ActBlue’s Legal and Compliance Team,” sheds more light on the criminally suspect practices of the left-wing fundraising titan. It’s really illegal to accept political contributions from foreign entities and individuals.
Thanks to the Dems soft-on-crime agenda, many Americans have been convinced that crime, chaos, and disorder were just facts of modern city life. Part and parcel, right? We were told to lower our expectations, accept the decay, and pretend that pesky “root causes” mattered more than actually putting away criminals and protecting decent people who are just trying to live their livesBut what’s happening in the Swamp right now blows a hole straight through that whole left-wing scam.
Because the truth is pretty simple… when leadership gets serious about crime, things change fast. And whether the media likes to admit it or not, President Trump deserves a whole lot of credit
Democratic Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy is under fire after a one-word social media post fueled accusations he was a "traitor" cheering against the United States amid the war in Iran.
"Awesome," Murphy wrote on X in response to a post reporting that 26 ships in Iran's shadow fleet have made it past the US blockade in the Gulf of Oman.
Murphy’s post adds to his long-running criticism of President Donald Trump’s foreign policy and revived scrutiny over his past posture toward Iran, giving critics fresh ammunition to cast the Connecticut Democrat as hostile to U.S. interests.
Social media commenters unleashed on Murphy for the message, with some asking if his account was "hacked"