Biden ‘Had to Choose’ Harris as VP — but He Had Someone Else He Actually ‘Wanted’: Report

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Former President Joe Biden reportedly wanted Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to be his vice president but “had to choose” former Vice President Kamala Harris.

An Atlantic article profiled the Democratic governor and potential 2028 presidential candidate on Sunday and reported how Biden considered Whitmer for his running mate in 2020, particularly after her pushback against President Trump.

Though Whitmer was ultimately not chosen, the Atlantic claimed that Biden “wanted it to be Whitmer” and was pushed into picking Harris after the Black Lives Matter protests.

“All of this attention seemed like it might add up to something, and by summer 2020, Whitmer was being vetted for vice president,” the report read.

“She wasn’t sure about it at first, people familiar with her thinking at the time told me; she struggled to imagine herself as a creature of Washington, DC. (Read more from “Biden ‘Had to Choose’ Harris as VP — but He Had Someone Else He Actually ‘Wanted’: Report” HERE)

15-Year-Old Tennis Star Dies After Suffering Heart Attack on Court

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An up-and-coming teenage tennis ace shocked and horrified spectators when he collapsed on the court from a sudden heart attack last Wednesday.

Player Luigi Santarelli, 15, was seen laughing with his coach just minutes before he suddenly dropped to the ground, witnesses told GBNews.

The medical staff at the Cittadella dello Sport complex in San Giovanni Teatino, Italy, immediately jumped into action to tend to the fallen player, and he was swiftly carted off to a local hospital for emergency treatment.

Sadly, it was all to no avail as Santarelli was pronounced dead at Pescara hospital. He reportedly never regained consciousness.

Authorities have not officially determined the cause of his death, and a full medical investigation has been launched to obtain the answers. (Read more from “15-Year-Old Tennis Star Dies After Suffering Heart Attack on Court” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Iran Issues Dire Warning about President Trump’s Strait of Hormuz Blockade: ‘Forceful Response’

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By New York Post. Iran warned Sunday that military vessels approaching the Strait of Hormuz would be a violation of the fragile cease-fire and face a “strong and forceful response” — following President Trump’s announcement of a blockade on the critical oil chokepoint.

Trump announced plans earlier Sunday to stop “any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave” the waterway until there’s a point where all oil is allowed to go in and out without obstruction from Iran.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy hit back, insisting it has “full control” of the Strait and that the waterway remains open for non-military vessels.

“Contrary to the false claims of certain enemy officials, the Strait of Hormuz is open for the passage of non-military vessels under smart control and management, in accordance with specific regulations,” the naval forces said in a statement, according to two semi-official Iranian news agencies.

The IRGC warned that any approach by military vessels toward the Strait would be treated as a violation of a cease-fire agreement. (Read more from “Iran Issues Dire Warning about President Trump’s Strait of Hormuz Blockade: ‘Forceful Response’” HERE)

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Trump announces blockade of Strait of Hormuz as prez blasts Iran for ‘WORLD EXTORTION’

By New York Post. The US will begin a sweeping blockade of the Strait of Hormuz at 10 a.m. EDT on Monday, with President Trump vowing to fight back against Iran’s “WORLD EXTORTION” and ensure that no one paying tolls to the regime will get through the critical oil chokepoint.

US Central Command announced the halt to “all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports” would be enforced “impartially” against all nations, no matter the point of origin.

“CENTCOM forces will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports,” the combatant command said in a statement.

Trump said that the negotiations with Iran that concluded Saturday without a deal “went well,” but faulted the Islamic Republic for refusing to budge on its nuclear program, which he described as “the only point that really mattered.”

“Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump declared on Truth Social Sunday. (Read more from “Trump announces blockade of Strait of Hormuz as prez blasts Iran for ‘WORLD EXTORTION’” HERE)

Major Coffee Chain Getting Rid Of Rainbow Flags And Baristas Are Losing It

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San Francisco-born coffee chain Philz Coffee is set to remove “pride” flags from their stores.

The change is part of Philz’s effort to create “a more consistent, inclusive experience across all our stores, including removing a variety of flags and other decor,” CEO Mahesh Sadarangani told the San Francisco Chronicle. Sadarangani has served as CEO since 2021. . .

“This is a change in how our stores look, not in who we are. Our allyship runs deeper than what is on our walls. It shows up in who we hire, how we treat one another and in our annual Pride Month Unity celebration, which returns this June as it has every year. Unity is fundamental to how we operate.”

Sadarangani is exactly right that the rainbow flag (and the lesbian flag, and the asexual flag, and the transgender flag) contribute to a less inclusive environment. The flags are a loud partisan symbol.

A group calling itself “Philz Coffee Baristas” started a Change.org petition Sunday urging Philz to “keep the pride flags up!” The petition is approaching 4,000 signatures as of publication. (Read more from “Major Coffee Chain Getting Rid Of Rainbow Flags And Baristas Are Losing It” HERE)

Trump Posts ‘Blasphemous’ AI Photo Depicting Himself as Jesus Christ after Pope Rant

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President Donald Trump posted a “blasphemous” AI image depicting him as Jesus on his Truth Social account minutes after unleashing a blistering attack on Pope Leo XIV.

The image features Trump healing a man who appears to be Jeffrey Epstein or possibly a war veteran in a hospital bed. Nurses, veterans and active duty soldiers surround him, while others can be seen in a depiction of heaven above and behind him.

Also behind him are famous American monuments, including the Statue of Liberty and the Lincoln Memorial. A massive American flag and several warplanes and eagles float in the sky near the depiction of heaven.

[Photo credit: Donald Trump/Truth Social]

“Trump is now posting AI images of himself as Jesus Christ healing, what appears to be, a young Jeffrey Epstein,” Democratic commentator Harry Sisson posted on X, attaching a screenshot of the Truth Social post. Another user commented under it, “That is some blasphemous bulls***.”

The post depicting Trump as Jesus comes minutes after the president posted a lengthy rant about Pope Leo, branding him “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy” while taking credit for his election to the papacy.

(Read more from “Trump Posts ‘Blasphemous’ AI Photo Depicting Himself as Jesus after Pope Rant” HERE)

Trump Hit with ‘Haunting’ Blackmail Theory Explaining His Iran Moves: ‘We’re not joking’

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Over the past month, President Donald Trump has dramatically escalated his administration’s war against Iran, culminating with his threat to destroy Iran’s entire civilization earlier this week, but according to Tucker Carlson’s independent media outlet, a “blackmail” operation could potentially be forcing the president’s hand.

The theory was outlined in a Friday morning newsletter from the Tucker Carlson Network, which pointed to a past incident that some have characterized as an attempted effort to blackmail a sitting U.S. president. Specifically, the newsletter cites claims made by political writer Daniel Halper in his 2014 biography “Clinton Inc.,” supported in part by sworn testimony given in 1998 to the congressionally established Office of Independent Counsel.

“Establishment media never reports this, but the Israeli government has a storied history of blackmailing U.S. Presidents,” the newsletter reads. “Perhaps the most jarring example occurred in the 90s, when Israel used recordings of a Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky phone sex session as leverage to pressure Clinton into releasing convicted spy Jonathan Pollard from prison. We’re not joking. That really happened.”

Evidence supporting the allegation that Israel had attempted to use phone recordings of Clinton and Lewinsky as “leverage” first emerged in 1998 after Lewinsky testified before the Office of Independent Counsel about her affair with the sitting president.

During her testimony, Lewinsky said that in early 1997, Clinton had told her “that he suspected a foreign embassy was tapping his telephones, (he did not specify which one),” just one month after then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Clinton in the Oval Office. (Read more from “Trump Hit with ‘Haunting’ Blackmail Theory Explaining His Iran Moves: ‘We’re not joking’” HERE)

Judge Sentences Man To Castration, Lets Him Decide Between Two Options

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A Louisiana judge sentenced a convicted sex offender to castration for a second-degree rape charge April 7, according to KTBS.

Caddo District Judge Ramona Emanuel sentenced Floyd Lee Cathron, 61, to castration after he was convicted of rape involving a teenage family member in March, according to KTBS. Cathron will decide if he receives surgical or chemical castration and will be officially sentenced on April 20. Emanuel factored Cathron’s four felony convictions into her decision. Prosecutors said the latest conviction fits a pattern of sex crimes toward children by the convict going back more than 20 years, among them prior rape and incest offenses.

Cathron also faces up to 40 years hard labor and registration as a sex offender for life, the Caddo Parish District Attorney’s Office (CPDAO) said in a press release. He faces heightened sentencing due to previous convictions for aggravated incest, aggravated rape and two counts of felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile.

A jury issued a unanimous guilty verdict against Cathron on March 18 following testimony from multiple people, including the victim, the district attorney’s office said. The CPDAO said it would pursue castration due to his criminal history and latest conviction.

Local residents spoke to KTBS and reacted to the possibility of Cathron becoming the first man locally to face surgical castration ahead of his April 7 hearing. (Read more from “Judge Sentences Man To Castration, Lets Him Decide Between Two Options” HERE)

Voters Oust Half Of City Council For Greenlighting $6,000,000,000 AI Data Center

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Voters in a Missouri town ousted four city council members Tuesday for supporting an AI data center in the area.

Voters in the town of Festus, Missouri, voted against four members of the town’s eight-member city council who voted to greenlight a $6 billion data center project a week prior, according to St. Louis Public Radio. Anger has been brewing in several localities across the U.S. against data center projects, with voters in a Wisconsin town overwhelmingly opting Tuesday to crack down on a proposed development.

Tuesday’s vote followed months of at times raucous opposition against CRG Clayco’s plan to build a hyperscale data center on 360 acres in the town. The four city council members who lost their reelection bids were defeated by candidates who ran against the data centers and supported more transparency in the data center approval process.

“This data center fight has struck this community to the core and really, honestly ignited a community-driven effort here,” Dan Moore, who defeated pro-data center incumbent Bobby Benz, told St. Louis Public Radio. “People are awake now, and we’re not going to let this continue on anymore.”

Residents opposed to the AI data center flooded a local gymnasium to voice their frustrations during a March 31 city council meeting where the council voted to approve a framework of requirements for CRG’s planned construction, St. Louis Public Radio reported. (Read more from “Voters Oust Half Of City Council For Greenlighting $6,000,000,000 AI Data Center” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

VA State Police Try to Calm Fears of Far-Left Governor Ordering Door-to-Door Gun Confiscation

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On Thursday the Virginia State Police (VSP) used an X post to try to calm fears that Democrat Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s gun control push will result in state police going door-to-door to confiscate firearms.

The gun ban, SB 749, targets so-called “assault weapons.” Breitbart News reported SB 749’s passage through the Virginia legislature, noting that the bill headed to Spanberger’s desk.

Although the SB 749 contains a grandfather clause allowing current owners of prohibited guns to continue possessing them, it makes clear that the possession of said guns will be illegal unless the firearm was in the possession of the individual prior to July 1, 2026.

Fears of door-to-door confiscation of banned guns arose, and the VSP’s X post appears to be an attempt to quell anxiety. (Read more from “VA State Police Try to Calm Fears of Far-Left Governor Ordering Door-to-Door Gun Confiscation” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Trump’s Hyperbolic Annihilationist Rhetoric Comes With A Moral Cost

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After threatening the death of “a whole civilization” on Tuesday morning, President Donald Trump announced a two-week, “double-sided” ceasefire with Iran Tuesday evening, pending the immediate opening of the Strait of Hormuz.

The annihilation of Iran, it seems, was averted by a last-minute deal brokered by Pakistan. In his announcement of the ceasefire, Trump said Pakistan “requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran.”

What’s going on? Did Trump really call off some devastating (possibly nuclear) strike because of a deal that only came through 90 minutes before the White House deadline? Maybe. Was the deal already in the bag before Trump made his hyperbolic threat that “a whole civilization will die tonight?” Possibly. And what about the 10-point proposal Trump said he received from Iran, which he called “a workable basis on which to negotiate?” The details of an Iranian proposal, which include things like reparations for Iran, Iranian control of the strait, and the lifting of all sanctions, have been public for days. Is that the proposal Trump was referring to on Tuesday evening, or is it something else? Who knows.

What does seem clear amid the fog of war, however, is that Trump’s maximalist, annihilationist rhetoric — talk of destroying Iranian “civilization,” “never to be brought back again,” taking out “the entire country,” bombing it “into the stone age,” targeting critical civilian infrastructure like power plants — has already gravely damaged the United States.

Why? Because America should only wage just wars, and waging a just war means being subject to certain restraints. Just war precludes immoral means — like the mass killing of civilians — to achieve victory. Even threatening such means, as Trump has done, damages the moral conscience of a people as much as it degrades the moral standing of a nation. Simply put, threatening to do something intrinsically immoral, even if you don’t actually do it, is wrong. (Read more from “Trump’s Hyperbolic Annihilationist Rhetoric Comes With A Moral Cost” HERE)