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From Zero Hedge: Romanian Pro-EU Government Collapses After No-Confidence Vote, Currency Tumbles To Record Low. "Can anyone say how Romania will function from tomorrow, do ?you have a plan?" [Ed: see earlier newsfeeds for detailed background on this predicted development.]

From Dog Beast: Kittens Heal Dog’s Heart After She Loses Her Best Friend

Redistricting. From the Hill: Alito, Jackson spar as Supreme Court speeds up Louisiana redistricting judgment. [Ed: it is rare for judges to be so public in their criticisms of each other, but Jackson seems to be breaking with this tradition.] From the Spectator: The Democrats May Not Survive Callais Ruling. The Court moves to curb race-based districts — and the political fallout could be enormous. [Ed: if they do not control, it is an indication of how deeply manipulated the elections have been.]

OPEC & Oil. From BBC: United Arab Emirates to quit oil cartel Opec. [Ed: after 60 yrs of membership. Quite the shake up.] From the Council on Foreign Relations: Why the UAE Walked Out on OPEC—and What It Means for the Cartel. The Emirates had been weighing a break from the cartel for several years now. A war, a conflict in Yemen, and a collapsed partnership with Riyadh gave them their reason to act. Oil. From Zero Hedge: Trump's Project Freedom Likely Triggered By Oil Market's One-Month Countdown To Chaos. "...one month away from a potential "tipping point." Without a resolution, traders warn that global crude and refined-product stockpiles could be drawn down to dangerous levels, creating dire conditions for another violent leg higher in fuel prices that could spark economic chaos."

From the Week: Why are Elon Musk and Sam Altman clashing in court? A battle over the origins and future of OpenAI. "Musk is seeking $130 billion in damages and the removal of Altman from the company’s board of directors." [Ed: as much as anything, I expect this is a clash of egos. Not that legal issues do not exist as well.] From Zero Hedge: How A Musk Victory Vs. Altman Would Reset America's AI Roadmap. Musk co-founded OpenAI in late 2015 as a nonprofit and contributed roughly $38 million in its early years...

From Newser: Group Says It Has Enough Signatures for Vote on Leaving Canada. Convoy of trucks delivered names to Elections Alberta office. [Ed: Alberta has received a raw deal from Canada proper for decades. And Trump would love to snap up an independent oil=rich Alberta.]

From American Greatness: Welfare Enrollment Drops Sharply Following New Federal Work Requirements.

From K9: ‘I Found My Path in Life Because of This Dog’

From the Epoch Times: A Property Tax Rebellion Is Emerging In America. “People are tired of being taxed to death and seeing the money stolen,” [Ed: a salutary effect of the whole Somali scam?]

Germany. From Zero Hedge: Germany's Inflation Scapegoat: Why Hormuz Is A Convenient Cover Story. In Germany, signs of a sharp rise in inflation are multiplying. Naturally, the Hormuz crisis is to blame. It serves as a fig leaf for Germany’s highly inflationary transformation into a socialist shortage economy. [Ed: by Thomas Kolbe.] From the Financial Times: How Germany’s Merz torpedoed his plan to contain Trump. Swipe at US president appears to wipe out year-long effort to establish rapport. [Ed: I think Merz has pushed the relationship past the point of return--something that's easy to do with Trump.]

From the BBC: Police Scotland's 'top dog' retires after award-winning career

From the Post Millennial: JD Vance vows to fight Medicaid fraud in Ohio. "I’m directing the task force to look into it and take immediate action to prosecute any fraudsters involved and stop all further payments as appropriate." Medicaid fraud is rampant in the Columbus Somali community.

AI. From MarketWatch: Coinbase CEO: We're Cutting 14% of Staff Thanks to AI. CEO Brian Armstrong says AI efficiencies reduce the need for workers. [Ed: AI, like computers before it, will also create a great many jobs.] From CBC: Cape Breton fiddler Ashley MacIsaac sues Google over alleged defamation. MacIsaac claims online giant defamed him by falsely IDing him as a sex offender in AI-generated summary.

From Quartz: Soon, No More Free Drink Refills at McDonald's. Chain to end self-serve soda stations across US by 2032 in move to cut costs.

From the Associated Press: Calif. Takes 'Major Enforcement Action' Against State Farm. Regulators allege widespread claim delays, underpayments after 2025 LA-area wildfires. [Ed: I hope this does not take attention away from State's wretched response...or lack thereof.]

Iran War. From Moon of Alabama: War On Iran: – “Project Freedom” A One-Off Stunt – Tightening UAE Blockade – China Counters U.S. Sanctions. [Ed: the war is definitely expanding in scope. Great.] From Son of the New American Revolution: All Indicators Signal that Trump Will Restart the War Against Iran This Week. [Ed: IMO, Trump will do one more massive bombing before declaring victory and going home.] UPDATE. From the Associated Press: Trump Says Hormuz Effort Has Been Paused. Rubio says 'Operation Epic Fury' has concluded. [Ed: does the next round of bombing now begin?] From Zero Hedge: Trump Pauses Project Freedom Amid "Great Progress" Towards 'Complete & Final' Agreement With Iran. [Ed: more detail on the pause and on the next stage of war.]

From Zero Hedge: US Intelligence Only Sees Limited Additional Damage To Iran Nuclear Program Since Last June. [Ed: so, what was it about?]

Home Robots. From the Associated Press: From Roomba Pioneer, Your New Pet Robot Overlord. CEO of Familiar Machines & Magic aims to crack household market again with AI-powered robot. [Ed: I welcome the advent of home robots. This is a step in the correct direction...] From Zero Hedge: Figure CEO Says Humanoid Robots Could Soon Enter Homes For $600 A Month. "You can plug it into a wall outlet, and it'll go to its dock and charge. I want it to do the laundry every day..."

From Woman's World Hero Dog Saves Wisconsin Grandma and Baby From Flood.

Indiana and Ohio Primaries--Tests of Trump's Power. From CNN: Trump gets revenge, and other takeaways from Tuesday’s Indiana and Ohio primaries. [Ed: Trump's favored candidates win.] From NPR: Ohio and Indiana election results test Republican loyalty to Trump, Democratic enthusiasm. "Two very different decisions Republicans made about gerrymandering will be on display in Tuesday's primary contests in Indiana and Ohio."

BREAKING. From Dances with Bears: Not So Quiet Death – The US Order to Kill the Iranian Navy's DENA and Its Crew. [Ed: a must read. A chilling must read.]

From Scientific American: An Amateur Just Solved a 60-Year-Old Math Problem - by Asking AI.

From Dog Heirs: Heroic Pit Bull Jumps In Front Of Gun, Taking Two Bullets For Her Owner

From Good News Network: Tow Truck Driver Tells Customers to Wait Until He Finishes Moose Rescue: They Reply ‘Oh, that’s fine’ (WATCH)

Everyday Finances. From the Economic Collapse: All-Time High 55% Of Americans Say That Their Financial Situations Are Getting Worse. Americans were not even this stressed about their financial situations during the Great Recession... [Ed: a lot of people I know are working harder for less.] From the Daily Economy: Steakhouse to Supermarket, High Beef Prices Aren’t Going Away. Beef has jumped 65 percent since 2020, turning a staple into a splurge. From drought-stricken ranches to fast-food menu shifts, beef prices are reshaping how Americans eat. From CNN: Tired of high costs, some Americans are importing homes straight from China.

Big Picture Economics. From Globe and Mail: The Likelihood of a Stock Market Crash Under President Donald Trump Is Rapidly Rising -- and There's One Undeniable Catalyst to Blame. [Ed: yep. You've guessed it.]

From the Volokh Conspiracy: How European Libertarians Differ From American Ones [Updated] As I saw at a recent conference, the two groups are similar in many ways. But there are a few notable differences..

From Gilbert Doctorow: It’s the Economy Stupid! Russia’s economy is doing very badly and what that means for September parliamentary elections…

From Pet Helpful: Pug’s ‘Face of Betrayal’ Proves She’ll Never Trust Dad About Car Rides Again

Redistricting. From Jonathan Turley: Colorblind Constitution: The Roberts Court Ends a ‘Sordid Business’. [Ed: using race to redistrict.] From Local 10: DeSantis signs Florida’s new congressional map into law, lawsuit follows. [Ed: DeSantis will prevail, of course.]

Israel. From Scheer Post: The West’s Bubble Of Illusion About Israel – And About Itself – Is Finally Being Burst. "The genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing in Lebanon exhausted the West’s moral legitimacy. Now Iran is slowly exhausting the West’s military primacy."

From Medium: Quantum Computing Will Break Every Password on Earth. Here Is What Happens Next. [Ed: Brad?]

From Reporters Without Borders: 2026 RSF Index: press freedom at a 25-year low. For the first time in the history of the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index, over half of the world’s countries now fall into the “difficult” or “very serious” categories for press.

War in/on Iran. From Responsible Statecraft: Trump’s Iran blockade snatches defeat from the jaws of victory. "Washington's search for a 'silver bullet' to defeat Tehran has made it all but impossible to secure a deal." From Moon of Alabama: War On Iran: – How Trump’s “Project Freedom” Has Failed. [Ed: wow. It just started yesterday. A must read.] From Son of the New American Revolution: Operation Project Freedom… Scamming the War Powers Act. [Ed: must read.] From Zero Hedge: Ceasefire Over? US Mum As UAE, Israel Prepare Military Response After Fresh Iranian Cross-Gulf Missile Attack. From Naked Capitalism: Iran War: Iran Targets US Warships, US Reports Small Successful Gulf Transit, Iran Hits UAE; Putin Call for Middle East to Be a WMD-Free Zone, Challenging Israel Nuclear Program; US Renewed Strikes Still Look Imminent

From Of Two Minds Blog: Recession and Revolution: Our Experience Isn't a Model or System

From I Love My Dog So Much: Retired Pilot Flies Rescued Animals To Their New Homes, Saying “I’d Rather Be Flying Dogs”

From GeoPolitics: China Uses Blocking Law for First Time to Counter U.S. Sanctions on Chinese Teapot Refineries Before Trump Visit. [Ed: it is not clear to me whether this visit will occur.] From Zero Hedge: In "Watershed Moment" China Orders Companies To Defy US Sanctions. By activating its blocking measures for the first time since adopting the rule in 2021, China is demonstrating a lower threshold for deploying its legal and regulatory toolkit to counter US sanctions,”

From Axios: Iran ceasefire in peril as UAE says it's under attack. [Ed: Iran fired missiles at UAE, which says it has the right to respond in kind.]

From Optimist Daily: 8 sky events all stargazers should catch this month

Dizziness in Europe. From Zero Hedge: Europe Will Lose Billions In Revenue If US Military Bases Shut Down. "German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who claimed the US had been "humiliated by Iran", suddenly changed his tune after Trump threatened to pull US troops out of the region..." [Ed: recommended read.] From Gulf Stream Blues substack: For Europe, the US rupture is an earthquake as big as the Soviet collapse.

From Mises.org: The Justice Department Indicts the Ministry of Love. The recent DOJ indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center might be controversial, but what is not controversial is that the SPLC engaged in conduct that was more reminiscent of the Ministry of Love in 1984 than protecting someone’s civil rights. [Ed: what amazes me is how long it was able to get away with the charade.]

AI. From the Hollywood Reporter: The AI Revolution Hollywood Feared Is Already Happening — in India. [Ed: I will not mourn the passage of Hollywood's stature and political flex.] From This is Money: 'Annoyance economy' hurts us and AI will make it worse. [Ed: one of the main costs--and one I truly resent--is outsourcing the work to customers.]

From the Post Millennial: Massive fraud in taxpayer-funded Ohio home health aide industry.

"We'll prosecute aggressively & put the money back in the pockets of law-abiding Ohioans. The dollar amount will be far greater than most people expect."

From Dooglovers: Heartfelt Rescue of Abandoned Puppies Reveals Their Touching Journey to Recovery and Joy

BREAKING. From Space: The Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaks next week: Here's what you need to know. ...peaks on the mornings of May 5 and 6. [Ed: hours before dawn look to the East.]

BREAKING. From Zero Hedge: Trump Announces "Project Freedom" To Help Ships Leave Hormuz Starting Monday. "The Ship movement is merely meant to free up people, companies, and Countries that have done absolutely nothing wrong — They are victims of circumstance" [Ed: and so Trump tries to control and regulate world trade.] From CNN: Iran Has Chilly Response to Trump's 'Project Freedom'. Tehran warns it will target uncoordinated vessels in Hormuz. From Naked Capitalism: Iran War: Peak Chaos as Trump Announces “Humanitarian” Convoy to Enter Strait to Free Trapped Ships, Soon Walked Back by Officialdom; Negotiations Reported as Collapsing as Iran Toughens Position; UAE Enters War

From Andrew Korybko: A Top Russian Expert Criticized China’s “Rational” Response To Recent US Moves. "The subtext is that Russia is now re-evaluating its assessment of China’s role in the evolving world order."

From Garden & Gun: A Musician Unleashes a Rescue Pup’s Bird Dog Soul. Powered by a yearning to hunt, the Trampled by Turtles singer finds an unusual canine collaborator

From the Conversation: Why the 60?day War Powers Resolution deadline doesn’t actually constrain presidents. "...the complex history of the War Powers Resolution clock demonstrates it is a toothless milestone."

AI. From NPR: In real-world test, an AI model did better than doctors at diagnosing patients. [Ed: I still don't feel comfortable being diagnosed by code.] From Law & Liberty: AI in an Age of Humanity. The good and the bad news is, we're in charge. [Ed: recommended. I like the SciFi slant.] From American Intelligence: The Cheap Foreign Labor Regime Blocking Agricultural Intelligence. [Ed: a must read.] From Interesting Engineering: First US Integrated Humanoid Robot Factory To Build 100,000 NEO Robots By 2027. 1X begins humanoid robot production in California, [Ed: could be used for "light housework." Good.]

From Reason: Self-Checkout Is Under Fire Across the Country. Is Theft Really the Reason? The restrictions are often framed as a crime prevention measure. But the fine print points to a different motivation: adding union jobs. [Ed: recommended.]

From New York Post: Former NASA Engineers Create Ingenious Way To Save Homes From Wildfires Using Noise. [Ed: using sound to put out fires.]

Tax $ to Illegal Immigrants. From the Washington Examiner: Trump says 300k illegal immigrants kicked off Social Security and 100k off Medicare. [Ed: well, maybe this will recoup the almost 70B spent on the Iran War to date. Probably not.] From FOX News: DOJ sues New Jersey over laws giving illegal aliens in-state tuition, says citizens treated as 'second-class'. Similar lawsuits in Texas, Kentucky and Oklahoma have already resulted in rulings blocking comparable laws

From Dog Beast: Lost For 3-years, Dog Howls With Joy When He Sees His Human Dad Standing In Front Of Him

Redistricting. From Townhall: Virginia’s Constitution Is Not a Suggestion: An Analysis of the Unconstitutional Redistricting Scheme. [Ed: good explanation.] From Newsweek: List of States Stepping Up Redistricting Wars After Supreme Court Ruling

From GovTrack: The Food Was Terrible and Such Small Portions. [Ed: a legislative round-up from last week. Well worth the read.]

From the AP: Rights Summit Is Off After Reported Chinese Pressure. Issue was attendance of Taiwanese activists, organizers say. [Ed: it was due to take place next week.]

From Orvis News: Story and Photos: Copa Returns to Montana . . . Again [Ed: great photos.]

The Strange Case of Maine. From the Post Millennial: Maine Senate hopeful Platner knew he had an 'antisemitic tattoo on his chest': Ex-campaign manager. “Graham has an antisemitic tattoo on his chest. He’s not an idiot, he’s a military history buff." [Ed: the swastika-tattooed self-declare anti-semite and communist had used 'ignorance' as his excuse. But, like Comey with 8647, no one believes him.]] From MEAWW: ‘Bad ideas refuse to die’: John Fetterman flags communist resurgence in US politics. Senator John Fetterman links protests and activist groups to rising socialist influence within segments of US political movements. [Ed: warns of communist takeover of the state.]

From Zero Hedge: The US Spends More On 'Defense' Than The Next 8 Countries Combined. Europe is driving the fastest growth, with spending rising sharply across NATO... [Ed: U.S. needs out of NATO...and I think that's Trump's plan.]

Changes in U.S. Gun Laws.From the Western Journal: DOJ Axes a Slew of Gun-Control Regulations in 'Historic' Day for the 2nd Amendment. From Bearing Arms: Everytown Hates the ATF's Proposed Rule Changes. [Ed: this is a defense of the changes in gun law.] From the ATF Website: ATF's New Era of Reform. [Ed: there is so much howling going on around these changes that you should read the source for yourself, if you're interested.]

Oil. From Red State: Trump Approves New Canada/USA Oil Pipeline, and Not Everyone Is Happy About It.

Watch Romania. From Romania-Insider: No-confidence motion against Liberal-led government is backed by over half of MPs, AUR leader says. [Ed: no confidence vote should be this week.] From the Straits News: Romania's two largest parties call no-confidence vote in pro-European government.

From CBS: Hero Dog Breaks Out Of House, Leads Police Back Home To Save Owner From Gas Leak

A Touching Moment LIves On. From Red State: Hockey Sparked Our Feud With Canada - Now It’s Healing It (Thanks to Beer). "In Buffalo last week, before a playoff game with the Boston Bruins,
there was an incident during the performance of the national anthems from both countries. To explain things..." [Ed: Direct link to X video.] From CBC: Here's Why Buffalo Sabres Plays Both National Anthems Even When No Canadian Team Is Playing. A mic failure turned into one of the most emotional moments of the NHL playoffs this year.

From Libertarian Institute: COVID Conniving Receives First Federal Indictment [Ed: by Jim Bovard.]

I like this image because I've seen Murray sit in this manner so often. And, yes, his offices were always that cluttered.