Saturday, April 18, 2026

Trump Admits Gas Prices Are Likely to Increase By November Midterms

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Trump Admits Gas Prices Are Likely to Increase By November Midterms

(Kyle Anzalone, Libertarian Institute) President Donald Trump warned Americans that gas prices may continue to increase through the midterm elections later this year. The war against Iran has caused substantial disruptions to the oil market. 

When asked about the possibility that gas prices will continue to increase, the President said, “It could be, or the same, or maybe a little bit higher, but it should be around the ‌same.”

After the US and Israel started the war against Iran with a surprise attack on February 28, Tehran seized control of the Strait of Hormuz. Most tankers have been blocked from leaving the Persian Gulf. Only a small number of vessels that paid a toll to Tehran were allowed to exit the Gulf.

The closure of the Strait has locked up about 15% of the global oil supply in the Persian Gulf. Additionally, energy infrastructure in the region has been damaged, and some critical facilities will take years to repair. 

The war shocked the oil market, sending oil prices over $100 per barrel. In an effort to keep prices from rising further, Trump suspended sanctions on oil exports from Venezuela, Russia, and Iran. 

However, the President now seems to have abandoned the effort to increase the global oil supply. On Sunday, he announced that the US was now imposing a full blockade on the Strait of Hormuz and ordered the Navy to seize any vessel that paid a toll to Tehran. 

The AAA national average for the price of a gallon of gas is now $4.12.

 

This article originally appeared at The Libertarian Institute.

Chinese Sulfuric Acid Export Ban Could Exacerbate Physical Silver Shortage

Money Metals News Service
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Chinese Sulfuric Acid Export Ban Could Exacerbate Physical Silver Shortage

(Mike Maharrey, Money Metals News Service) A move by China could exacerbate already tight silver supplies.

Chinese officials have indicated they will stop exports of sulfuric acid beginning next month. The ban could last through the rest of 2026.

According to Mining.com, “Some sulfuric acid producers in the country recently received notifications about the change, and one large buyer has been told about it by their Chinese supplier, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information.”

You’re probably wondering what this has to do with silver.

Well, sulfuric acid is a key input in copper mining. Miners pour the acid over crushed ore to dissolve out the copper. A significant shortage of sulfuric acid, or even spiking prices, could impact copper output.

You’re probably thinking, OK, Mike. But copper isn’t silver.

Here’s the catch. About 70 percent of the annual silver mining supply is a byproduct of copper production.

Blue Line Futures Chief Market Strategist Phillip Streible summed it up succinctly.

“Less copper mined means less silver produced.”

Iran War Logistics Problems

The Iran conflict has squeezed global sulfuric acid supplies, and prices have skyrocketed in recent weeks. The Middle East produces about one-third of the world’s sulfur, and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has limited outbound shipments.

According to Mining.com, “That squeeze will hit the copper-mining industries in key producers such as Chile, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia.”

China will reportedly stop exports of the acid to protect its domestic supply.

Chile ranks as the world’s top copper producer. Sulfuric acid prices in the South American Country have already spiked by 44 percent in the last month. Chile buys around 1 million tonnes of acid from China annually.

According to an acid analyst quoted by Mining.com, “the loss of Chinese volumes will be difficult to offset, given the parallel shortage of sulfur feedstocks.”

Even with some apparent progress in resolving the conflict, some analysts say the damage to the sulfuric acid supply is already done, and China will likely keep the export ban in place for an extended period.

Silver Market in a Multi-Year Supply Deficit

This comes at a time when the silver supply is already under significant pressure.

Silver demand is forecast to outstrip supply for the sixth straight year in 2026, driven by a 20 percent increase in physical investment offtake.

Based on preliminary data compiled by the Silver Institute, silver demand outstripped supply by about 95 million ounces last year, leading to the fifth straight market deficit. Including last year’s shortfall, the 5-year market deficit will climb above 800 million ounces, an entire year of mining output.

When silver demand exceeds the supply generated by mining and recycling, users are forced to tap into above-ground stocks. This generally requires higher prices to incentivize those holding silver to release it into the market.

Persistent supply shortfalls have taken their toll on above-ground stocks. According to the Economic Times of India, “Inventories across COMEX, London vaults, and Shanghai have steadily declined over recent years, reinforcing concerns about tightening physical availability.”

London Bullion Market Association vaults have lost around 40 percent of their holdings over the last five years, while COMEX registered inventories in the United States are down nearly 70 percent. Meanwhile, Shanghai inventories have fallen to their lowest level in a decade.

The shortage of metal was a factor in the two recent silver squeezes that drove the price to over $100 per ounce.

It’s unclear just how much China’s move will impact copper mining and silver production by extension, but it is definitely worth watching. It is yet another factor pressuring the persistent silver shortages.

Mike Maharrey is a journalist and market analyst for Money Metals with over a decade of experience in precious metals. He holds a BS in accounting from the University of Kentucky and a BA in journalism from the University of South Florida.

CPI Spikes on Energy Prices But That’s Not the Real Inflation Story

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CPI Spikes on Energy Prices But That’s Not the Real Inflation Story

(Mike Maharrey, Money Metals News Service) The expected surge in prices due to the Iran War showed up in the March CPI data. However, it doesn’t tell the real inflation story.

Without a doubt, price inflation is up. The cost of the basket of goods the BLS uses to calculate the CPI rose 0.9 percent month-on-month, according to the data released Friday. That was the largest single-month jump since the height of the post-pandemic surge in 2022.

The big monthly rise in prices pushed the headline annual CPI to 3.3 percent. The last time it was that high was March 2024.

Both numbers were in line with forecasts.

The surge in CPI was almost entirely due to skyrocketing energy prices. The energy index rose 10.9 percent month-to-month. That was driven by a 21.2 percent monthly increase in gasoline prices.

However, stripping out the more volatile food and energy prices, core CPI was relatively cool, rising just 0.2 percent from month to month. Annual core inflation nudged up slightly, from 2.5 percent in February to 2.6 percent in March.

As CNBC noted, based on the CPI, underlying inflation is “relatively tame.” (It is not — a point I’ll get to in a moment.)

It’s important to point out that core CPI remains above the Fed’s stated 2 percent target and has been mired in this range for well over a year.

Digging deeper into the data, we find that many indices showed no price increases at all. For instance, food prices were unchanged from February to March. Service prices were also relatively tame, rising by 0.2 percent month-on-month.

As I mentioned, any time I report on government CPI data, it’s important to take this (and every) CPI report with a grain of salt. It is still factoring in November data that they basically just made up. And the constant revisions to the labor data should also make you skeptical of government numbers.

You also need to remember that the CPI data understates price inflation by design. The government revised the CPI formula in the 1990s so that it understated the actual rise in prices. Based on the formula used in the 1970s, CPI is closer to double the official numbers. So, if the BLS used the old formula, we’d be looking at CPI closer to 6 percent. And using an honest formula, it would probably be worse than that.

However, this government data drives decision-making, so we need to pay attention to what it tells us.

The Real Inflation Story

As I reported last month, the CPI doesn’t tell the full inflation story. It simply reflects the price movements of a basket of goods made up out of thin air by the number crunchers at the BLS. Yes, this does give some indication of the trajectory of price inflation. However, it tells us little to nothing about the inflation trajectory as historically defined by economists.

Inflation is not “rising prices.” Increasing consumer prices are one symptom of inflation, defined as an increase in the supply of money and credit. Rising consumer prices are a symptom of this monetary inflation.

And if we look at the money supply, we find that inflation is heating up, with or without an oil shock.

In fact, if we use the economic definition of inflation as an increase in the money supply, the inflation rate is much higher – double the CPI.

Based on the Fed’s M2 data, the money supply has increased from $21.61 trillion in February 2025 to $22.67 trillion in February 2026.

That represents a 4.9 percent increase.

In other words, we have an actual inflation rate of nearly 5 percent.

After peaking in April 2022, the money supply began to decline as the Fed hiked rates that year. The money supply bottomed in October 2023 and began increasing again. The money supply is now well above the pandemic peak.

And money creation has accelerated over the last several months.

We also know inflationary pressures are increasing because the Federal Reserve is once again expanding its balance sheet.

While you’ll never hear anybody at the Fed utter the term, the central bank relaunched quantitative easing in December. That means they are once again buying U.S. Treasuries using money created out of thin air.

Ultimately, this monetary inflation will work its way through the economy. It will either manifest in rising asset prices or rising consumer prices. Ultimately, it is devaluing your money (by design).

If the U.S. and Iran can negotiate a permanent end to hostilities, this oil shock will quickly pass. The pundits and prognosticators will claim the inflation problem is gone. It won’t be. As long as the government keeps creating money, the inflation problem will persist.

Plan accordingly.

Mike Maharrey is a journalist and market analyst for Money Metals with over a decade of experience in precious metals. He holds a BS in accounting from the University of Kentucky and a BA in journalism from the University of South Florida.

Navy to Blockade Iranian Ports Monday at 10 A.M.

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Navy to Blockade Iranian Ports Monday at 10 A.M.

(Headline USA) President Donald Trump on Sunday said the U.S. Navy would swiftly begin a blockade of ships entering or leaving the Strait of Hormuz, after U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks in Pakistan ended without an agreement.

U.S. Central Command announced that it will blockade all Iranian ports beginning Monday at 10 a.m. EDT, or 5:30 p.m. in Iran.

CENTCOM said the blockade will be “enforced impartially against vessels of all nations.” It said it would still allow ships traveling between non-Iranian ports to transit the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump wants to weaken Iran’s key leverage in the war after demanding that it reopen the strait to all global traffic on the waterway that was responsible for 20% of global oil shipping before fighting began.

Traffic in the Strait has been limited even in the days since the ceasefire. Marine trackers say over 40 commercial ships have crossed since the start of the ceasefire.

A U.S. blockade could further rattle global energy markets.

Oil prices rose in early market trading on Sunday after the blockade announcement. The price of U.S. crude rose 8% to $104.24 a barrel, and Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 7% to $102.29. Brent crude cost roughly $70 per barrel before the war in late February.

Iran says ‘if you fight, we will fight’

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard later said the strait remained under Iran’s “full control” and was open for non-military vessels, but military ones would get a “forceful response,” two semi-official Iranian news agencies reported.

During the 21-hour talks, the U.S. military said two destroyers had transited the strait ahead of mine-clearing work, a first since the war began. Iran denied it.

Trump’s plan to use the Navy to block the strait is unrealistic and he will have to concede on some issues with Iran, said Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer in security studies at Kings College London. “There isn’t any tool in the toolbox in terms of the military lever that he could use to get his way,” Krieg said.

Trump said Tehran’s nuclear ambitions were at the core of the talks’ failure. In comments to Fox News, he again threatened to strike civilian infrastructure.

Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who led Iran’s side, addressed Trump in a new statement on his return to Iran: “If you fight, we will fight.”

No word on what happens after ceasefire expires

The face-to-face talks that ended early Sunday were the highest-level negotiations between the longtime rivals since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Neither indicated what will happen after the ceasefire expires on April 22.

“We need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon,” said Vice President JD Vance, leading the U.S. side.

Iranian negotiators could not agree to all U.S. “red lines,” said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to describe positions on the record. These included Iran never obtaining a nuclear weapon, ending uranium enrichment, dismantling major enrichment facilities and allowing retrieval of its highly enriched uranium, along with opening the Strait of Hormuz and ending funding for Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthi rebels.

Iranian officials said talks fell apart over two or three key issues, blaming what they called U.S. overreach. Qalibaf, who noted progress in negotiations, said it was time for the United States “to decide whether it can gain our trust or not.”

Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said his country will try to facilitate a new dialogue in the coming days. Iran said it was open to continuing dialogue, state-run IRNA news agency reported.

The European Union urged further diplomatic efforts. The foreign minister of Oman, located on the Strait of Hormuz’s southern coast, called for parties to “make painful concessions.” The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin “emphasized his readiness” to help bring about a diplomatic settlement in a call with Iran’s president.

Iran’s nuclear program is a key sticking point

Iran’s nuclear program was at the center of tensions long before the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28. The fighting has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, 2,055 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states, and damaged infrastructure in half a dozen countries.

Tehran has long denied seeking nuclear weapons but insists on its right to a civilian nuclear program. The landmark 2015 nuclear deal, which Trump later pulled the U.S. out of, took well over a year of negotiations. Experts say Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, though not weapons-grade, is only a short technical step away.

An Iranian diplomatic official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of closed-door talks, denied that negotiations had failed over Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Inside Iran, there was new exhaustion and anger after months of unrest that began with nationwide protests against economic issues and then political ones, followed by weeks of sheltering from U.S. and Israeli bombardment.

“We have never sought war. But if they try to win what they failed to win on the battlefield through talks, that’s absolutely unacceptable,” Mohammad Bagher Karami said in Tehran.

Elsewhere in the region, airstrikes calmed over the past day except in Lebanon.

More questions as Israel presses ahead in Lebanon

Iran’s 10-point proposal for the talks called for a halt to Israeli strikes on the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel has said the ceasefire did not apply there, but Iran and Pakistan said it did.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited parts of southern Lebanon under Israeli control on Sunday, for the first time since the current fighting. Attacks on southern Lebanon have intensified alongside the ground invasion renewed after Hezbollah launched rockets toward Israel in the war’s opening days.

Negotiations between Israel and Lebanon are expected to begin Tuesday in Washington after Israel’s surprise announcement authorizing talks despite their lack of official relations. Israel wants Lebanon to assume responsibility for disarming Hezbollah, but the militant group has survived efforts to curb its strength for decades.

The day the Iran ceasefire deal was announced, Israel pounded Beirut with airstrikes, killing more than 300 people, according to the Health Ministry.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported six people were killed Sunday in Maaroub village near the coastal city of Tyre.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Mass Shooting Kills 1 and Injures 6 at a Chick-fil-A

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Mass Shooting Kills 1 and Injures 6 at a Chick-fil-A

(Headline USA) Police say one person was shot and killed and six others were injured in what they call a mass shooting at a Chick-fil-A in Union, New Jersey.

Investigators do not believe the attack at about 9 p.m. Saturday was random, according to a press release issued Sunday from the Union County Prosecutor’s Office. No arrests have been made, but the office said “there is no immediate ongoing threat to the general public.”

The injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, the release said.

A ride share driver told WABC that he heard more than seven shots from close range as he approached the restaurant.

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said Sunday on social media: “Our hearts go out to the victim’s loved ones, and we are hoping for the full recovery of those who were injured.”

She urged people with information to contact authorities investigating the shooting.

An email sent to Chick-fil-A’s corporate offices was not immediately returned.

The Homicide Task Force at the county prosecutor’s office is investigating.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Fellow Dems Call for Rep. Swalwell’s Resignation amidst Expanding Sex Scandal

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Fellow Dems Call for Rep. Swalwell’s Resignation amidst Expanding Sex Scandal

(Headline USA) Fellow Democrats are abandoning Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell’s campaign for California governor in droves after allegations surfaced that he sexually assaulted a former staffer, with a growing number urging the congressman both to quit the race and resign his seat in Congress.

Swalwell has denied the allegations, which he has said “are absolutely false.” They surfaced after he became a leading contender in the race for California governor to replace outgoing Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Over the weekend, with Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign already teetering, Democrats in Congress began to call for his resignation from the House. Some even said they would support the rare step of expelling him should he refuse to step aside.

Fellow California Reps. Jared Huffman, Ro Khanna and Sam Liccardo said Swalwell should resign, as did Reps. Teresa Leger Fernández of New Mexico and Pramila Jayapal of Washington state.

“This is not a partisan issue,” Jayapal said Sunday. “This cuts across party lines. And it is depravity of the way that women have been treated.”

It all added to the mounting political pressure on Swalwell, who has already seen his most prominent supporters, including Sen. Adam Schiff and powerful labor unions, pull their endorsements and call for his exit from the race. Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., who helped run Swalwell’s campaign, said he was immediately ending his role.

With the House returning to session Tuesday, the question of whether to expel Swalwell could come to a head quickly. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., said Saturday that she would be filing a motion to start the process.

Expulsion votes in the House are rare and require a two-thirds majority, but there is recent precedent for taking the step. Republican George Santos of New York in 2023 became just the sixth member in House history to be ousted by colleagues for his conduct.

Huffman, Jayapal and Leger Fernández said they would vote to expel Swalwell from the House, though they said they also support expelling Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, who admitted to an affair with a former staff member who later died by suicide.

Republican Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, who is running his own campaign for governor, said both Swalwell and Gonzales “need to go home” and that he would vote to expel them both.

Khanna also indicated support for congressional action against both lawmakers.

“So, it depends on if it’s worded in a fair way,” Khanna said. “But this shouldn’t be about politics. Anyone who abuses young girls and staffers should not be in the United States Congress.”

The San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday about allegations that Swalwell sexually assaulted a woman in 2019 and 2024. The woman said she did not go to police at the time of the assaults because she was afraid she would not be believed.

The woman worked for Swalwell when the first alleged assault occurred in 2019, while the 2024 assault allegedly occurred at a charity gala, the Chronicle reported. In both cases the woman said she was too intoxicated to consent to sex.

The paper didn’t name the woman, but the investigative organization Marco Polo claimed that it’s Isabella Olive, who’s currently the comms director for Rep. Sam Liccardo, D-Calif. Her lawyer declined to comment.

The alleged 2024 incident occurred in New York, and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said Saturday that it was investigating. That office urged anyone with knowledge to contact its special victims division.

After the allegations surfaced, Swalwell said Friday in a video on social media that he would spend the weekend with family and friends and share an update “very soon.” He is not running for reelection for his House seat.

“These allegations of sexual assault are flat false. They’re absolutely false. They did not happen, they have never happened, and I will fight them with everything that I have,” the congressman said.

Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker who remains a dominant force in California politics, said the “serious allegations” must be investigated. She said she spoke to Swalwell and suggested that be done “outside of a gubernatorial campaign.”

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York and his leadership team also called for an investigation and for Swalwell to end his campaign for governor.

Jayapal and Donalds appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” and Khanna was interviewed on “Fox News Sunday.”

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

 

Trump Threatens Strait of Hormuz Blockade after Ceasefire Talks End w/o Agreement

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Trump Threatens Strait of Hormuz Blockade after Ceasefire Talks End w/o Agreement

(Headline USA) President Donald Trump on Sunday said the U.S. Navy would “immediately” begin a blockade to stop ships from entering or leaving the Strait of Hormuz, after historic U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks in Pakistan ended without an agreement or next diplomatic steps in sight.

In his first public comments after the 21-hour talks, Trump sought to exert strategic control over the waterway that was responsible for the shipping of 20% of global oil supplies before the war, hoping to eliminate Iran’s key source of leverage.

A U.S. blockade could further rattle global energy markets and prices for oil, natural gas and related products. It was not immediately clear how it might be carried out, but Trump told Fox News the goal was to ensure all ships could transit: “It’s going to be all or none, and that’s the way it is.”

Trump said he has “instructed our Navy to seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran. No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas.” Other nations would be involved in the blockade, he said, but did not name them.

During the talks, the U.S. military said two destroyers transited the strait ahead of mine-clearing work, a first since the war began. Iran’s state media said the joint military command denied that.

Trump stressed that Tehran’s nuclear ambitions were at the core of the failure to end the war, and the U.S. was ready to “finish up” Iran at the “appropriate moment.” In comments to Fox News, he again threatened to strike civilian infrastructure and said he was fine with his widely criticized threat shortly before the ceasefire announcement that a “whole civilization will die tonight.”

No word on what happens after ceasefire expires

The face-to-face talks that ended earlier Sunday were the highest-level negotiations between the longtime rivals since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Both delegations later left Islamabad.

Neither indicated what will happen after the 14-day ceasefire expires on April 22. Pakistani mediators urged all parties to maintain it. Each side said their positions were clear and blamed the other.

“We need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon,” Vice President JD Vance, leading the U.S. side, said afterward.

Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who led Iran’s side, said it was time for the United States “to decide whether it can gain our trust or not.” Iranian officials earlier said talks fell apart over two or three key issues, blaming what they called U.S. overreach.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said his country will try to facilitate a new dialogue in the coming days. Iran said it was open to continuing the dialogue, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported.

The European Union urged further diplomatic efforts. The foreign minister of Oman, on the Strait of Hormuz’ southern coast, called for parties to “make painful concessions.” And the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin “emphasized his readiness” to help bring about a diplomatic settlement in a call with Iran’s president.

Iran’s nuclear program is a key sticking point

Iran’s nuclear program had been at the center of tensions long before the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28. The fighting has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, 2,020 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states, and caused lasting damage to infrastructure in half a dozen Middle Eastern countries.

Tehran has long denied seeking nuclear weapons but insisted on its right to a civilian nuclear program. The landmark 2015 nuclear deal took well over a year of negotiations. Experts say Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, though not weapons-grade, is only a short technical step away.

An Iranian diplomatic official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of closed-door talks, denied that negotiations had failed over Iran’s nuclear ambitions. “Iran is not seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, but it has the right to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes,” the official said.

Inside Iran, there was fresh exhaustion and anger after months of unrest that had begun with nationwide protests against economic issues and then political ones, and then weeks of sheltering from U.S. and Israeli bombardment.

“We have never sought war. But if they try to win what they failed to win on the battlefield through talks, that’s absolutely unacceptable,” 60-year-old Mohammad Bagher Karami said in Tehran.

More questions as Israel presses ahead in Lebanon

Iran’s 10-point proposal for the talks had called for a guaranteed end to the war, including the end of fighting against Iran’s “regional allies,” explicitly calling for a halt to Israeli strikes on the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Israel has said the ceasefire deal did not apply in Lebanon, but Iran and Pakistan said otherwise. Negotiations between Israel and Lebanon are expected to begin Tuesday in Washington after Israel’s surprise announcement authorizing talks despite their lack of official relations.

The day the Iran ceasefire deal was announced, Israel pounded Beirut with airstrikes, killing more than 300 people in the deadliest day in Lebanon since the war began, according to the country’s Health Ministry.

Though Israel’s strikes have calmed in Beirut, its attacks on southern Lebanon have intensified alongside the ground invasion it renewed after Hezbollah launched rockets toward Israel in the war’s opening days.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported six people were killed Sunday by a strike in Maaroub village near the coastal city of Tyre.

Israel wants Lebanon’s government to assume responsibility for disarming Hezbollah, but the militant group has survived efforts to curb its strength for decades.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

 

Texas House Committee Fines Democrats Nearly $423,000 for Absconding

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Texas House Committee Fines Democrats Nearly $423,000 for Absconding

(Bethany Blankley, The Center Square) The Texas House Committee on Administration on Friday voted to fine House Democrats who absconded during special legislative sessions last year. After a closed door hearing, the committee voted 6-5 along party lines to fine 53 House Democrats $8,354 each.

The decision came eight months after Texas Democrats left Texas to meet with the Democratic governors of Illinois and California to look for ways to oppose a Congressional redistricting effort underway in Texas, The Center Square reported. By Aug. 3, more than 50 House Democrats left the state, saying the “special session is over,” effectively ending legislative business during a first special session that had been called by Gov. Greg Abbott.

House Speaker Dustin Burrows authorized warrants for absconding Democrats’ arrest and said they would be fined in accordance with House rules, The Center Square reported. Abbott called a second special session, saying he would keep calling special sessions until House Democrats returned. The Texas Constitution requires members to be present during a called special session by a governor.

Abbott also filed a petition with the Texas Supreme Court. The Texas House and an Illinois state senator also sued 33 Texas House Democrats in Illinois; the Texas House sued six Texas House Democrats in California, The Center Square reported. Judges in those states rejected the lawsuits. By Aug. 18, House Democrats returned, a quorum was reached and legislative business continued. This included passing the redistricting bill, which is now law.

In January, Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, who chairs the committee, notified absconding Democrats that they had been fined nearly $9,400. Committee staff had confirmed “the total amount of the costs incurred by the House to compel attendance of absent members in response to those calls,” of nearly $125,000, to be divided among them.

That total came from Texas Department of Public Safety attempts to issue warrants and other efforts made to compel a quorum. They were also fined $500 a day per absence over 14 days totaling $7,000, The Center Square reported. House Democrats had until Feb. 9 to explain why the fines should not be imposed.

Fast forward to April 10 and the committee met to “consider financial penalties (fines and costs) pursuant to Rule 5, Section 3, House Rules of Procedure, for Members that were absent from the House during the First and Second Called Sessions, 89th Legislature,” according to a notice Geren issued. The committee held an executive session “to deliberate, consider, and debate the financial penalties for Members” and heard invited testimony.

Committee members voted along party lines to approve a fine of $6,000 for each Democrat for 12 days of absence. Geren dropped the fine by $1,000 for each member by removing two Sundays from the $500-a-day count because the House was not in session on those days, he said, The Texas Tribune reported.

They were also each charged $2,354 in expenses incurred from the $125,000 amount identified in January. The total comes to just over $8,300 each. House rules prohibit members from using campaign funds to pay the fines.

The Texas House Democratic Caucus said that during the hearing, “Democratic members raised repeated concerns that key records tied to claimed enforcement costs were produced at the eleventh hour, including additional materials disclosed the morning of the hearing. Members were asked to respond in real time to political and financial claims without the full review window that basic fairness requires, and without the due process that the House Rules, Texas Constitution, and United States Constitution demand.

“After hours of testimony and questioning, significant concerns remained about whether all claimed costs were fully substantiated. House Republicans moved forward anyway.”

Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, said at the hearing, “State law says any cost of a political process, a political cost of your office, can be reimbursed by campaign. State law trumps the House rules, period, right?,” The Texas Tribune reported. He also encouraged donations to the House Democratic Caucus Campaign to help pay the fines.

In response, state Rep. Mitch Little, R-Lewisville, replied, “Breaking the rules to pay the fines for breaking the rules. Very meta.”

After the vote, Wu said, “The House can enforce its rules, and members can use constitutional tools when our constituents’ representation is under attack. But if leadership is going to impose thousands of dollars in personal penalties, it has to provide timely notice, transparent records, and a meaningful chance to respond. That did not happen today. We made the decision to break quorum to defend fair representation for Texans, and we would make that same decision again.”

Members who don’t pay the fines could have their office budget cut by 30%, according to House rules.

Secret Service Trainee Arrested for Spying on Roommate Going to the Bathroom

Ken Silva
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Secret Service Trainee Arrested for Spying on Roommate Going to the Bathroom

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) A Secret Service trainee was arrested Wednesday for spying on his roommate, also an agent-in-training, with a hidden camera, according to ABC News.

“Police reports from Glynn County, Georgia, said the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center student, Joel Lara Canvasser, secretly filmed his suitemate’s every move with a spy camera hidden in a phone charger,” ABC News reported.

“Canvasser allegedly targeted the roommate with a weekslong campaign of harassing text messages written to suggest the roommate was being watched by a stalking stranger who could see into his suite and even the bathroom.”

Canvasser was reportedly charged with unlawful eavesdropping or surveillance, according to police records. He posted bond of $8,458.

A police report describes crimes more sociopathic in nature—rather than acts of espionage.

“Roughly a week after [the roommate] plugs in the charger, he begins receiving odd text messages from various numbers. In the beginning he believed they were spam messages, however over time he began to realize whoever was texting him was simultaneously watching him,” the police report said, per ABC News.

The roommate then sought help from Canvasser, who told him he was probably the victim of a malware attack. But when the roommate reset the phone, he found that his troubles persisted.

“There was a specific instance where [the roommate] was using the bathroom and his phone was in his pocket. When he finished, he checked his phone and saw a message referencing him using the bathroom. It was at this point that [the roommate] realized the individual was not watching him through his phone camera but instead from another device,” the police report said.

“When he had pulled [the charger] out of the wall, the light hit the device in such a way that made the lens visible.”

Wednesday’s arrest marks the latest public embarrassment for the agency.

Last month, for instance, a Secret Service agent protecting former First Lady Jill Biden shot himself in the buttocks at the Philadelphia International Airport.

And earlier in the month, Real Clear Politics reporter Susan Crabtree reported that agent Myosoty Perez, who is a lesbian, has been suspended and is under investigation for marrying a foreign national—possibly an illegal immigrant—without declaring it. Perez was one of the agents responsible for nearly getting President Donald Trump killed at his July 13, 2024, campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

In January, journalist James O’Keefe published a shocking report about how a Secret Service agent assigned to Vice President JD Vance’s security detail leaked details about his travels to one of O’Keefe’s undercover reporters.

Also in January, a Secret Service recruit shot and killed a 16-year-old in Tamarac, Florida. The 16-year-old victim was identified as Orlando Wedderburn. A woman was also grazed. The Secret Service recruit, for his part, is claiming self-defense.

According to Crabtree, Secret Service Director Sean Curran is receiving internal criticism for not doing enough to eliminate the agency’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies, which were implemented starting in the Obama era.

Meanwhile, the agency is looking to hire 4,000 new employees by 2028.

Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

WATCH: 23-Story Miami Hotel Destroyed in Implosion

Headline USA Editor
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WATCH: 23-Story Miami Hotel Destroyed in Implosion

(Headline USA) A hotel at one of Miami’s most exclusive locations was demolished Sunday to make way for something bigger.

Demolition experts completed the controlled implosion of the former Mandarin Oriental, Miami on Brickell Key, a human-made island at the mouth of the Miami River, across from downtown. It marked the largest implosion for Miami in more than a decade, officials said.

The 23-story building, which opened 25 years ago, collapsed in less than 20 seconds following blasts that occurred around 8:30 a.m.

People watching the implosion safely from afar cheered and recorded phone videos as the building’s framework collapsed following a series of rapid charges. Dust soon filled the air as building material crashed down. Some watchers wore face masks as they left the area.

Residents within 800 feet of the building were asked to stay inside their apartments during the blast with windows and doors closed.

According to Swire Properties, the demolition will make way for the groundbreaking of The Residences at Mandarin Oriental, Miami, a two-tower ultraluxury hotel and residential development scheduled for completion in 2030.

The operation follows nearly two years of planning and coordination with specialized contractors and the city, developers said. Implosion was selected as the safest and most efficient method to maintain the project timeline while minimizing disruption and ensuring the safety of the Brickell Key community.

The implosion happened a couple of minutes after what looked and sounded like blue- and pink-tinted fireworks were set off near the top of the building.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

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