Iran warms Trump they're "prepared to reveal new battlefield cards"

Ghalibaf / Morteza Nikoubazl / NurPhoto via Getty Images

Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, issued a direct warning to President Donald Trump on Monday via X. Iran, he declared, would not accept negotiations with the United States while under threat.

"Trump, by imposing a blockade and violating the ceasefire, seeks, in his view, to turn the negotiating table into a table of surrender or to justify renewed warmongering," he said.

"We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threat, and over the past two weeks, we have prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield," Ghalibaf added.

This is the familiar language of the Islamic Republic: defiant, theatrical, and steeped in the conviction that weakness invites only greater pressure.

 

Ghalibaf, who led the Iranian delegation in talks with Vice President J.D. Vance in Islamabad, Pakistan, on April 11, knows perfectly well that the regime’s position grows more precarious with every passing week of sanctions and isolation. Yet the script remains unchanged. 

Threats of new “cards on the battlefield” are offered as though they might intimidate rather than invite the very escalation Tehran claims to fear. It is a posture the mullahs have perfected over decades: rejection of diplomacy dressed up as principled resistance, while the Iranian people continue to pay the price for their rulers’ intransigence.

Is it just me, or do you also hear the Kenny Rogers song, "The Gambler" in the back of your head?

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Democratic fundraisers plead the Fifth

Five employees of the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue invoked the Fifth Amendment when questioned by congressional investigators, refusing to answer any questions.

The witnesses were called to testify as part of an investigation into whether ActBlue misled Congress about its safeguards against foreign contributions. Those subpoenaed included former Vice President of Customer Service Alyssa Twomey, former General Counsel Darrin Hurwitz, former Director and Associate General Counsel Aaron Tug, Legal Counsel Zain Ahmad, and a senior workflow specialist involved in fraud prevention.

According to committee officials, the five employees invoked their Fifth Amendment rights 146 times, declining to answer questions ranging from “When did you work at the ActBlue” to “Did members of ActBlue’s legal and compliance teams leave ActBlue after the 2024 election because of the platform’s inability to prevent fraud during previous election cycles?”

Committee leaders said the refusal to testify “only amplifies” concerns about the platform’s internal controls.

A joint report obtained by conservative media outlet The Daily Wire from the House Administration, Judiciary, and Oversight and Government Reform Committees alleges a mass exodus of ActBlue legal and compliance staff after the 2024 presidential election. The report also says one ActBlue attorney “appears to have been retaliated against by ActBlue executives for blowing the whistle.”

Ahmad, described as one of the remaining attorneys at the organization, forwarded memoranda from outside counsel warning about weaknesses in ActBlue’s fraud detection and compliance practices, according to the report. Lawmakers argue the documents showed a failure to screen for foreign donations.

Ahmad reportedly went on leave after escalating the concerns to ActBlue’s board and senior leadership. Two days later, the organization’s director of compliance “either quit … or was fired” after more than a decade with the group.

The investigation is ongoing, with lawmakers examining whether ActBlue allowed foreign contributors into American elections and whether it misled Congress about its safeguards.A memo cited in the report warned that ActBlue could face allegations that it “accepted and/or facilitated the acceptance of foreign-national contributions,” and that any violations could be considered “knowing and willful,” potentially exposing the organization to increased penalties or a criminal investigation.

Under United States law, foreign citizens cannot donate directly to federal candidates or political action committees, and no one can lie to or obstruct evidence before Congress.

Nothing says "nothing to hide" quite like five ActBlue bigwigs pleading the Fifth a combined 146 times while Congress tries to figure out if the Democrats' favorite money-laundering machine has been letting foreign cash slosh into our elections. These are former vice presidents, general counsels, and senior compliance folks, the very people who were supposed to make sure ActBlue wasn't turning American democracy into an international PayPal for anyone with a suitcase full of unmarked bills.

When even the lawyers start clamming up and the compliance team does a mass vanishing act right after the 2024 election, you don't need a crystal ball to smell the panic. One attorney gets retaliated against for blowing the whistle, another gets shown the door after a decade on the job, and the remaining legal eagle is suddenly on leave after daring to point out that the fraud safeguards were about as sturdy as a wet paper bag.

The joint report from three House committees lays it out plainly: warnings ignored, foreign donation screens that apparently screened nothing, and a chilling memo spelling out the possibility of "knowing and willful" violations that could land the whole operation in serious legal crosshairs.

Democrats love to lecture the rest of us about "defending democracy," but when their premier fundraising platform gets hauled in front of Congress and responds with a collective "I refuse to answer on the grounds that it might incriminate me," the mask slips completely. 

If ActBlue has nothing to fear, why are all the adults in the room suddenly exercising their right to remain silent? The American people deserve straight answers, not a master class in stonewalling. This is the sound of a very expensive grift starting to unravel.

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Freshman Katanji Brown Jackson scolds senior colleagues after court deals with routine police stop case

KBJ still doesn't know if she's a woman

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, a woman who isn't certain what a woman is because she isn't a biologist, accused the Supreme Court majority on Monday of overstepping its role to "wordsmith" a lower court in Washington, D.C. in a pointed break from her colleagues in a Fourth Amendment case about whether a police officer had reasonable suspicion to stop a man. 

Jackson, a Biden autopen appointee and the least senior of all justices, was the only one to defend the D.C. appeals court, which had found last year that the officer improperly stopped the man while he was in a vehicle. The Supreme Court reversed the lower court's decision, approving the police stop because common sense prevailed.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, an Obama appointee and the high court's most senior liberal justice, also broke with the majority but declined to join Jackson's dissent, further isolating Jackson as an outlier even among the liberal justices.

The Supreme Court’s decision emphasized that police officers have the broad ability to rely on a "totality of the circumstances" when making stops, noting that sometimes seemingly trivial standalone facts about a situation can be combined with more suspicious behavior to justify reasonable suspicion for a police stop or arrest. You know, like seeing two African men in MAGA hats, holding a hangman's noose at 2 a.m. on a sub-freezing day on a Chicago looking suspicious near a Subway Restaurant, for example.

But Jackson argued against what she said was the high court's intervention in a lower court's routine evaluation of which facts are relevant and which are not. "I cannot fathom why that kind of factbound [sic] determination warranted correction by this Court," D.E.I. Jackson wrote.

The case arose from a 2023 dispatch call to Washington, D.C., police at 2 a.m. reporting a suspicious vehicle. When an officer arrived on scene, two people ran from the car while the remaining passenger slowly began backing out of the parking lot with a door still open. The D.C. attorney general's office argued on behalf of police that this "totality" of facts amounted to reasonable suspicion to stop the person who remained in the car.

The Supreme Court’s unsigned per curiam opinion [Latin for "by the court" -- is a judicial decision issued by an appellate court, e.g., US Supreme Court of a federal/state appeals court, that isn't attributed to any specific individual judge or justice as the author. Instead, it is presented as the opinion of the court as a whole (or the panel of judges who heard the case)], said the lower court improperly ignored that two people fled the vehicle before the third person was stopped by an officer. 

Jackson said the D.C. appeals court had done basic "culling" of facts to reach its conclusion that the stop was unwarranted.

"Under these circumstances, with only seconds to decide whether to intervene, the officer was entirely justified in detaining the driver," lawyers for the police argued. They added that "within moments of stopping the driver, the officer observed a smashed window and punched-out ignition, confirming that the vehicle had been stolen."

While Jackson has become known for aggressively supporting court intervention in broader constitutional fights involving presidential power, in this case, her dissent emphasized a need for judicial restraint. Jackson argued that the lower court properly considered the Fourth Amendment, which says people have a right to be "secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures." 

She said the case was not worthy of taking the "unusual step of summary reversal." But what does she know? She doesn't even know what a woman is.

"I am not sure why our Court sees fit to intervene in this case, let alone to do so summarily," Jackson said. "If the intervention reflects a worry that the District of Columbia Court of Appeals (DCCA) misunderstands the Fourth Amendment’s totality-of-the-circumstances analysis, that worry seems unfounded."

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Distress call captures tanker under fire, Iran shuts Hormuz trapping thousands of sailors

Fox News is reporting on skyrocketing tensions in the Middle East as Iran's Revolutionary Guard doubles down on its iron grip over the Strait of Hormuz and opens fire on passing ships.

President Trump, speaking from the Oval Office, made it crystal clear that the U.S. naval blockade will stay in full force. White House correspondent Alex Hogan is on the ground with the latest on this rapidly escalating diplomatic and military standoff.

Hundreds of commercial tankers are now stranded on both sides of the Strait of Hormuz after Iran slammed shut this critical chokepoint on April 18, bringing traffic to a complete halt and leaving crews trapped amid reports of gunfire and "traumatic experiences" on board.

The Strait of Hormuz is considered an international waterway under international law, through which ships have the right of transit passage, according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz, making it a critical chokepoint for global energy markets, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said Iranian gunboats opened fire on a tanker the same day, while a projectile struck a container vessel, damaging cargo.

U.S. Central Command said Tuesday that "U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers are among the assets executing a blockade mission impacting Iranian ports." (CENTCOM)

Audio released by maritime monitoring group TankerTrackers appears to capture the moment a vessel and its crew came under fire while approaching the strait, including a distress call from a crew member.

"Sepah Navy! Motor tanker Sanmar Herald! You gave me clearance to go… you are firing now. Let me turn back!" the crew member can be heard saying in the recording, according to TankerTrackers.

Iranian state media confirmed that shots were fired near vessels to force them to turn back, while the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India said the foreign secretary was deeply concerned.

Hapag-Lloyd, the world’s fifth-largest container shipping line, told Fox News Digital that it had activated a crisis team as its crews remain stuck on board vessels in the region.

"We have been working from Friday afternoon until today with the entire crisis team to bring the vessels out — in vain, unfortunately," said Nils Haupt, senior director of group communications at Hapag-Lloyd AG.

"These events can easily lead to traumatic experiences. There is also a significant risk from sea mines, which has made insuring vessels for passage through the Strait nearly impossible."

"The crews are well, but they are becoming increasingly impatient and frustrated. It is very unfortunate that we could not leave today," he added. "Many ships are still stuck in the Persian Gulf."

"Our six ships are anchored near the port of Dubai, and all crews hope for an improvement in the situation," Haupt said.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on April 18 that the strait would remain closed until the U.S. lifts its blockade on Iranian ports, warning ships not to move from anchorage or risk being treated as "enemy" collaborators.

Iran has previously argued that restrictions on its oil exports and shipping amount to "economic warfare," framing actions in the Strait of Hormuz as a response to foreign pressure on its economy, according to statements from Iranian officials and state media in past incidents.

"Approaching the Strait of Hormuz will be considered cooperation with the enemy, and any violating vessel will be targeted," the IRGC said in a statement carried by the semi-official Tasnim News Agency.

Fishing boats dot the sea as cargo ships, in the background, sail through the Arabian Gulf toward the Strait of Hormuz off the United Arab Emirates, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo)The United States imposed the blockade on Iranian ports to pressure Tehran to reopen the strait, with U.S. Central Command saying the measures are being enforced "impartially against all vessels."

Hapag-Lloyd said its vessels have been stuck for weeks following the initial closure after the outbreak of war with Iran on Feb. 28.

"For us, it is critical that our vessels can pass through the strait soon," Haupt said."We offer all crew members unlimited data so they can video call loved ones and access entertainment. Crews are strong, but after weeks on board there is growing monotony and frustration."

"One crew experienced a fire on board from bomb fragments. Others have seen missiles or drones near their vessels," he added.

"They are resilient, but each additional day makes the situation more difficult, more monotonous, and more stressful."

President Trump said Iran had agreed not to close the strait again but after the closure, Trump called the situation "blackmail" and said the U.S. would not back down.

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Caught! Accused killer of 8 children in custody

Shamar Elkins, was a 31-year-old Army National Guard veteran from Shreveport, Louisiana, He is the suspect accused of opening fire during a domestic incident that left eight children dead and two women injured on Sunday, previously served in the Louisiana Army National Guard, officials said.

Shortly after 6 a.m. (CT) on the morning of April 19, 2026,  Elkins carried out shootings at multiple addresses (reported as two or three related homes). The POS allegedly killed eight children aged 1 to 14, with seven believed to be his own biological children or direct descendants. One additional child reportedly escaped. 

Elkins allegedly also shot and wounded two adult women (one critically), including his wife or ex-partner, Shaneiqua Pugh/Elkins (age 34), with whom he had been in a relationship for about 10 years and married since April 2024. They reportedly had four daughters together.
Authorities described the incident as stemming from domestic violence or a domestic disturbance. After the shootings, Elkins fled like a coward, carjacked a vehicle, and led police on a chase into neighboring Bossier City/Parish. 

Thankfully, he was fatally shot by officers during the pursuit (it is however, unclear if it was police fire or a self-inflicted wound as the cause of death).
Hours before the attack, he reportedly posted on social media about a “1 on 1 date” at a burger joint with one of his daughters and shared family photos. Days or weeks earlier, he had posted concerning messages about his wife and marriage.

“Shamar D. Elkins served in the Louisiana Army National Guard from August 2013 to August 2020 as a Signal Support System Specialist (25U) and a Fire Support Specialist (13F),” an Army official told Fox News Digital. “He has no deployment. He left the Army as a private.” 

Seven years in the Army and he ended up at the lowest rank--he must've been a veritable genius.

Authorities say Elkins is accused of carrying out the shooting across multiple locations before fleeing the scene, carjacking a vehicle and later being killed during a confrontation with law enforcement. 

Buy that cop a beer.

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US Navy seizes Iranian cargo ship after blowing a hole in its engine room

Trump / Roberto Schmidt / Getty Images

The U.S. Navy just delivered a swift and decisive lesson in maritime enforcement, intercepting and seizing an Iranian-flagged cargo ship that foolishly tried to run President Donald Trump's naval blockade in the Gulf of Oman.

“Today, an Iranian-flagged cargo ship named TOUSKA, nearly 900 feet long and weighing almost as much as an aircraft carrier, tried to get past our naval blockade, and it did not go well for them,” Trump said in a post shared on X (and originally on Truth Social).

“The U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance intercepted the TOUSKA in the Gulf of Oman, and gave them fair warning to stop,” he said.

“The Iranian crew refused to listen, so our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engine room. Right now, U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel,” Trump added.

“The TOUSKA is under U.S. Treasury sanctions because of its prior history of illegal activity. We have full custody of the ship, and are seeing what’s on board!” he said.

This isn't some minor dust-up—it's a clear signal that America's renewed strength under Trump means business when it comes to choking off Iran's illicit networks. The regime in Tehran keeps testing the waters, and the U.S. Navy keeps reminding them why that's a terrible idea.

This is a breaking story and there will be more to follow.

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Iranian National Woman Arrested in Weapons Case

Federal authorities arrested an Iranian national at Los Angeles International Airport on suspicion of trafficking weapons on behalf of Tehran. The case throws into sharp relief the persistent national security threats that continue to emanate from the Iranian regime.

Shamim Mafi, 44, [aka "The Shamster"] of Woodland Hills, was taken into custody on Saturday night. She stands charged with violating federal sanctions laws by allegedly brokering the sale of Iranian-made weapons, according to First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli.

"Last night, Shamim Mafi . . .  was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport for trafficking arms on behalf of the government of Iran," Essayli said Sunday in a post on X, detailing the charges against her.

Prosecutors allege that Mafi arranged deals involving drones, bombs, bomb fuses, and millions of rounds of ammunition manufactured in Iran and sold to Sudan.

The charges fall under 50 U.S.C. § 1705, the statute that prohibits evading or violating U.S. sanctions against foreign adversaries.

If convicted, Mafi faces up to twenty years in federal prison. When one considers the scale of death that such weapons could have inflicted, that sentence feels perilously short. She needs to go away for every year she has lived.

Authorities confirmed that Mafi is an Iranian national who became a lawful permanent resident of the United States in 2016. She is expected to make her initial appearance on Monday in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles. As with all criminal cases, she is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

This arrest arrives at a moment of heightened tensions between the United States and Iran. Officials have repeatedly warned of the regime’s global reach, its relentless pursuit of weapons proliferation, and its unstinting support for proxy conflicts across the Middle East and beyond.

Essayli’s post, which confirmed both the arrest and the nature of the allegations, served as a stark reminder of the seriousness of these charges and their broader national security implications.

At the heart of the case are claims that Mafi helped facilitate the movement of military-grade equipment tied directly to Iran’s defense industry. The episode raises troubling questions about the extent of Tehran’s covert networks and their ability to operate even within the borders of the United States.

Security experts have warned for years that Iran’s sophisticated use of intermediaries and hidden supply chains to export weapons poses a formidable challenge to Western enforcement agencies. The alleged involvement of a lawful permanent resident based in America only sharpens the concern. It suggests that foreign actors have learned how to exploit American infrastructure, residency privileges, and international travel systems for their own lethal ends.

The timing of the case is hardly coincidental. It arrives as policymakers debate the need for far stricter enforcement of sanctions and tighter controls on individuals linked to hostile regimes. Critics have long maintained that years of lax oversight have emboldened adversaries such as Iran, allowing them to expand their influence through precisely this kind of illicit trade.

Federal prosecutors have so far released few additional details about the full scope of the alleged operation or whether others remain under investigation. Yet officials have left no doubt that disrupting these illegal arms-trafficking networks remains a priority of the highest order.

As the legal process now unfolds, this case will command attention not merely for its immediate criminal dimensions but for what it reveals about the wider struggle to contain Iran’s destabilizing activities on the global stage. In an era when the regime continues to export terror and weaponry with impunity, such prosecutions serve as a necessary, if imperfect, line of defense.

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Trump tells Iranian regime what will happen if there's no deal

President Donald Trump may be the funniest and most amusing president the country has ever seen, but he isn't kidding around with the Iranian regime. He told Fox News Sunday what he planned to do if the regime fails to agree to his deal once the ceasefire ends

"If the deal isn’t done, the deal that we made, then I’m going to take out their bridges and their power plants," he said as he fired off another warning to repeat his threat to end "civilization" in Iran. "If they don’t sign this thing, the whole country is going to get blown up." Hopefully, he wasn't including the anti-regime citizens who so bravely stood up against the Ayatollah and have lost tens of thousands of peaceful protesters in the events that followed.

"We’re preparing to hit them harder than any country has ever been hit before because you cannot let them have a nuclear weapon," Trump added.

Those remarks came as Trump mocked the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in a Truth Social post for staking claim to a Strait of Hormuz "blockade" the U.S. military had already put in place.

"Iran recently announced that they were closing the Strait, which is strange, because our BLOCKADE has already closed it," Trump wrote. "They’re helping us without knowing, and they are the ones that lose with the closed passage, $500 Million Dollars a day! The United States loses nothing.

"In fact, many Ships [sic] are headed, right now, to the U.S., Texas, Louisiana, and Alaska, to load up, compliments of the IRGC, always wanting to be 'the tough guy!'"

Notably, Trump told Fox News that there is turmoil in Iran, over control of a country whose multiple layers of leadership had been killed over the past few months of strikes by Israel and the U.S.

"There's a little bit of a fight between the moderates [in Iran] and the crazies," Trump said. "Nobody's winning it."

"Our Navy has done an unbelievable job," he continued. "We haven't even been challenged." 

Trump declared that Saturday's IRGC fire was "a total violation" of the ceasefire."Iran decided to fire bullets yesterday in the Strait of Hormuz — A Total Violation of our Ceasefire Agreement!" his Truth Social post began.

"Many of them were aimed at a French Ship, [sic] and a Freighter [sic] from the United Kingdom. That wasn’t nice, was it? My Representatives [sic] are going to Islamabad, Pakistan — They will be there tomorrow evening, for Negotiations [sic]."

Trump remains hopeful, albeit not completely grammatical, about diplomacy, while he is not ruling out a return to force, where he once warned about ending "civilization" in Iran as they know it.

"We’re offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran," Trump's stern warning continued.

"NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!

No more [sic]s.

"They’ll come down fast, they’ll come down easy and, if they don’t take the DEAL, it will be my Honor to do what has to be done, which should have been done to Iran, by other Presidents, for the last 47 years. IT’S TIME FOR THE IRAN KILLING MACHINE TO END!"

Trump's Middle East peace envoys are going to take the next step toward a diplomatic resolution first, he told the outlet.

"Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are heading to the Middle East," Trump said. "They will be leaving [Monday]. Their meeting will begin on Tuesday morning. It’s a very simple deal, they’ve agreed to much of it."

"It's almost like they don't learn," he said.

Trump added that he has not made a decision on targeting water infrastructure, including desalination plants.

"I hate to do that one," he said.

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