US forecasts blizzard, polar vortex, heat dome and atmospheric river all at once

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Nearly every part of the United States is getting walloped by wild weather or just about to be.

Days of downpours have begun in Hawaii. The Southwest will soon bake with day after day of record 100-degree-plus (38 Celsius-plus) heat. Two storms will dump snow by the foot over northern Great Lakes states. And the dreaded polar vortex will again invade the Midwest and East with soul-crushing Arctic chill.

This forecast of extremes comes as weather whiplash has already hit much of the East. On Wednesday, Washington, D.C., residents walked around in shorts in record-breaking 86 degrees Fahrenheit (about 30 C). On Thursday, it snowed.

“All of the country, even if you’re not necessarily seeing extremes, are going to see generally changing from cold to warm, or warm to cold to warm,” said meteorologist Marc Chenard of the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center in Maryland. (Read more from “US forecasts blizzard, polar vortex, heat dome and atmospheric river all at once” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Trump temporarily lifts sanctions on Russian oil ‘stranded at sea’

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The Trump administration temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian oil “stranded at sea” Thursday in an effort to contain skyrocketing energy prices due to Iranian threats against tanker ships.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the move as one of President Trump’s “decisive steps to promote stability in global energy markets” and keep oil prices low amid the “threat and instability posed by the terrorist Iranian regime.”

“To increase the global reach of existing supply, [Treasury] is providing a temporary authorization to permit countries to purchase Russian oil currently stranded at sea,” Bessent wrote on X.

The treasury secretary noted that the “narrowly tailored, short-term measure” will only apply to oil “already in transit.”

There are an estimated 124 million barrels of oil originating from Moscow at sea, which is enough for about five to six days of supply, according to CNBC. (Read more from “Trump temporarily lifts sanctions on Russian oil ‘stranded at sea’” HERE)

Beauty queen slams Trump as she’s FIRED by White House: ‘I stood by you for 20 years… now, I don’t even recognize you’

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A former Miss California has accused Donald Trump of betraying his most loyal supporters after being fired from a White House religious post over her comments on Israel.

Carrie Prejean Boller was sacked from the Justice Department’s Religious Liberty Commission after ‘hijacking’ a February 9 hearing examining the rise of anti-Semitism.

Prejean Boller engaged in tense exchanges with Jewish witnesses, including rabbis and students, who were giving evidence about abuse they had suffered after the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas which left 1,200 dead.

The 38-year-old, who is married to former NFL quarterback Kyle Boller, published an open letter to Trump on Thursday, claiming that he was surrounded by ‘heretics’ who supported Israel over America.

She reminded the President that it was he who had defended her when, at 21 years old, she ignited a national firestorm at the Miss USA pageant by declaring that marriage should be between a man and a woman. Trump owned the pageant at the time and defended her right to free speech, letting her keep her crown.

You can hear her interview HERE.

‘I have not changed one bit since the day you stood beside me in 2009. That is why it is so shocking to now be removed from a Religious Liberty Commission for doing the very same thing you once defended,’ Prejean Boller wrote. (Read more from “Beauty queen slams Trump as she’s FIRED by White House: ‘I stood by you for 20 years… now, I don’t even recognize you’” HERE)

‘Round River’ FBI Op Was A Deep State Conspiracy To Thwart Investigation Into Biden Family Corruption

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The U.S. attorney tasked in 2020 by Attorney General William Barr with vetting evidence related to the Biden family and Ukrainian corruption knew nothing about the recently revealed “Round River” FBI operation launched to neutralize all negative information and allegations of Biden family corruption.

That secret operation not only left the Pittsburgh-based U.S. attorney unaware of potentially relevant information, it also buried scores of derogatory allegations about the Biden family in the FBI’s prohibited access files, preventing them from being accessed by any other FBI officials.

Early this week, news broke that FBI agents had recently discovered “the opening memo and files” for an investigation branded Round River, which targeted individuals who shared or distributed allegations against the Biden family, and was also run out of the Pittsburgh office.

According to Just the News, “The files also show the bureau may have targeted the Pittsburgh office as the launching point to impede an effort by then-Attorney General Bill Barr to ask his federal prosecution team in the same city to investigate why an FBI informant report alleging Biden family corruption was not fully investigated when it first came in.”

However, then-Attorney General Bill Barr’s request to federal prosecutors in the Western District of Pennsylvania was broader. In January 2020, Barr tapped then-U.S. Attorney Scott Brady to vet evidence related to Ukrainian corruption and the Biden family. As Brady would later testify in a closed-door hearing of the House Judiciary Committee, that included information provided by Giuliani, as well as other members of the public. (Read more from “‘Round River’ FBI Op Was A Deep State Conspiracy To Thwart Investigation Into Biden Family Corruption” HERE)

Michigan’s Temple Israel wannabe car bomber who rammed into preschool ID’d as Lebanese American granted citizenship under Obama

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The maniac who drove a vehicle full of explosives through a preschool at a Michigan synagogue in an antisemitic attack Thursday has been identified as a naturalized US citizen from Lebanon, federal officials announced.

The wannabe car bomber, who died after smashing through the doors of Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, was ID’d as Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, 41, the Department of Homeland Security told The Post.

Ghazali, who is married to a US citizen, entered the US through Detroit in 2011 and became a US citizen himself in 2016 under the Obama administration, acording to DHS.

“He entered the United States on May 10, 2011 at Detroit Metropolitan International Airport on an IR1 immigrant visa as the spouse of a U.S. citizen after alien relative and fiancé petitions filed in December 2009 were approved in April 2010. He applied for naturalization on October 20, 2015 and was granted U.S. citizenship on February 5, 2016 under the Obama administration.”

The armed driver was found dead inside the car, which was loaded with mortar shells, after the temple’s security opened fire when they plowed through the entrance, police and sources said.

The explosive-laden truck sparked a blaze, with aerial footage from local outlets showing smoke wafting from the building in the aftermath as authorities swarmed the synagogue. (Read more from “Michigan’s Temple Israel wannabe car bomber who rammed into preschool ID’d as Lebanese American granted citizenship under Obama” HERE)

Trump Needs To Prepare Americans For What Comes Next In Iran

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It’s been nearly two weeks since the Trump administration launched a war against Iran, and President Trump is beginning to signal that he wants to wind it down. On Monday, he said “we’re way ahead of schedule,” and that the war would be over “very soon.” On Wednesday during a speech in Kentucky, Trump off-handedly declared “we’ve won,” and said it was all over “in the first hour.”

It’s understandable that Trump would be eyeing a quick end to the war, given spiking oil prices, growing public opposition to the war, and criticism from his MAGA base. But at this point it’s looking less and less like the president will simply be able to declare victory and walk away, however politically desirable that might be.

The main reason is that Iran, although badly wounded, is still fighting. This week it began targeting commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, through which passes about 20 percent of the world’s oil supply. Two oil tankers were struck by Iran in Iraqi waters on Wednesday, setting them ablaze and killing one crew member. Videos of the burning oil tankers, reportedly struck by armed Iranian boats, circulated widely on social media. In addition, four other vessels were hit by Iranian projectiles in the Persian Gulf on Wednesday.

Since March 1, more than 20 ships have been attacked by Iran in the Persian Gulf. And it’s not just oil tankers or Western-flagged vessels. All types of ships have been hit, and not only in the Strait of Hormuz but across the Gulf. Marine traffic through the strait has now come to a standstill, with tanker crews unwilling to risk Iranian attack boats and missiles.

The Trump administration is clearly aware of the problem. This week, Trump ordered the release of 172 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Oil Reserve, the largest such release in its history. And earlier this month, he announced the United States Development Finance Corporation would offer political risk insurance and financial guarantees to maritime trade passing through the Gulf, adding that, “If necessary, the United States Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as possible.” (Read more from “Trump Needs To Prepare Americans For What Comes Next In Iran” HERE)

US obliterates ‘every MILITARY target’ on Iran’s Kharg Island in historic bombing raid, Trump says

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Military targets on Iran’s Kharg Island – the loading site for most of the Islamic Republic’s oil exports – were “totally obliterated” by US airstrikes during a historic bombing raid in the Persian Gulf, President Trump announced Friday.

“Moments ago, at my direction, the United States Central Command executed one of the most powerful bombing raids in the History of the Middle East, and totally obliterated every MILITARY target in Iran’s crown jewel, Kharg Island,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The island, located about 16 miles off the Iranian coast, is one-third the size of Manhattan and controls 90% of Iranian crude oil exports.

Trump said the island’s oil infrastructure was not targeted but may be hit in future strikes, if the Iranian regime doesn’t allow ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

“Our Weapons are the most powerful and sophisticated that the World has ever known but, for reasons of decency, I have chosen NOT to wipe out the Oil Infrastructure on the Island,” the president said. (Read more from “US obliterates ‘every MILITARY target’ on Iran’s Kharg Island in historic bombing raid, Trump says” HERE)

Iran War Bill Now Bigger Than DOGE Cuts Congress Passed

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The United States military spent over $5 billion in munitions alone during the first two days of Operation Epic Fury, with war costs appearing to have surpassed $9.4 billion in U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) spending cuts codified by Congress.

The U.S. military launched strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran on Feb. 28, targeting Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps command and facilities which killed the Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khameinei and roughly around 49 senior regime and military officials, dealing a crippling blow to the Iranian government structure. The Pentagon used $5.6 billion in munitions within just the first two days of its ongoing Iran operation, according to three anonymous U.S. officials who spoke to The Washington Post.

An anonymous congressional official told the Atlantic that the Pentagon estimated the Iran war’s preliminary cost to be around $1 billion per day and that the Pentagon could request as much as $50 billion in supplemental funding.

Politico reported that senior GOP lawmakers privately expect the Trump administration to request tens of billions of dollars for the Iran war. Some GOP lawmakers heard estimates that the Pentagon is spending up to $2 billion a day, according to Politico.

President Donald Trump told reporters on March 9 the war would end “soon,” but no specific timeline has been confirmed. (Read more from “Iran War Bill Now Bigger Than DOGE Cuts Congress Passed” HERE)

Two Oil Tankers Explode — Leaving at Least 1 Dead — After Suspected Iranian Attack in the Persian Gulf

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At least one person is dead and two oil tankers are ablaze in the Persian Gulf after a suspected Iranian attack on the vessels.

Explosive-laden Iranian boats reportedly struck the two tankers on Wednesday, Reuters reported, citing the initial findings of an Iraqi-led investigation into the fires.

The tankers may have been carrying as much as 400,000 barrels of Iraqi oil, according to TankerTrackers.com.

Farhan al Fartousi, the director general of the Iraqi Ports Company, told CNN that the 38 foreign crew members had to be rescued from the damaged ships after the “explosions.”

Footage of the fires show the flames spreading in the surrounding water, a sign oil is leaking from the massive tankers, which were anchored alongside each other prior to the attack, according to CNN. (Read more from “Two Oil Tankers Explode — Leaving at Least 1 Dead — After Suspected Iranian Attack in the Persian Gulf” HERE)

Photo credit: X/SaadoonMustafa

Trump Says US Must ‘Finish the Job’ in ‘Virtually Destroyed’ Iran: ‘Don’t Want to Leave Early’

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President Trump said Wednesday that the US must “finish the job” in Iran — warning that a “weak, pathetic” future president could allow Tehran to build nuclear bombs.

“We don’t want to leave early, do we? We got to finish the job, right?” Trump said during a rally in Kentucky.

“Some day… perhaps you’ll have a weak, pathetic person” as president, “like Barack Hussein Obama,” Trump said, noting his first-term decision to trash Obama’s 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Under the Obama deal “they would have had nuclear weapons, and this world would, right now, be a different place,” he said.

The president did not say what specific goals he hopes to achieve in the remainder of the war or share a timeframe — after previously floating four weeks or less. (Read more from “Trump Says US Must ‘Finish the Job’ in ‘Virtually Destroyed’ Iran: ‘Don’t Want to Leave Early’” HERE)