More Devastating News for Democrats

The Supreme Court’s bombshell ruling striking down racial gerrymandering under the Voting Rights Act sent shockwaves through the political landscape this week — and Southern Republican governors wasted no time acting on it. For Democrats, who have spent years leaning on race-based district engineering to protect their congressional seats, the timing couldn’t be worse.

Alabama and Tennessee both called special legislative sessions on Friday to redraw their congressional maps, and the dominoes are already starting to fall across the South.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey moved quickly, calling lawmakers into special session and signaling she wants the state ready to hold new primary elections if the courts move fast enough to allow it. Right now, Alabama’s May 19 primaries are set to proceed using a court-ordered map that artificially packs black voters into two districts — a map the Supreme Court’s ruling makes unconstitutional. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall filed an emergency motion Friday asking the court for a quick answer on whether the state can revert to its previously drawn map, which has just one majority-black district and would almost certainly deliver an additional Republican seat in Congress.

“By calling the Legislature into a special session, I am ensuring Alabama is prepared should the courts act quickly enough to allow Alabama’s previously drawn congressional and state Senate maps to be used during this election cycle,” Ivey said Friday afternoon.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee followed suit, calling his own special session to review the state’s congressional map. The current map includes a single Democratic-controlled district anchored in Memphis, and Lee’s office has warned that “any change to Tennessee’s congressional map must be enacted as soon as possible,” ahead of the August 6 primary.

It’s not hard to read the tea leaves on where this is headed.

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Communist and socialist groups call for ‘revolution’ and seizure of property at Minneapolis May Day rally

Communist and socialist groups called for a “revolution” at a May Day rally in Minneapolis Friday, highlighting the growing influence of far-left organizations at an event traditionally centered on workers’ rights.

Some of those demonstrators denounced capitalism and pushed for the seizure of private property and the means of production, marking a shift in tone from past May Day rallies that primarily focused on labor issues.

Protesters on the ground outlined a range of demands, including rent caps tied to income, a reduced work week and the redistribution of wealth from billionaires. The rally, which drew well over 1,000 people, was organized as an immigrant rights demonstration but brought together a broad mix of labor unions, activist organizations and far-left political groups marching side by side.

Among the groups present were the Communist Party USA, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), the Revolutionary Communists of America (RCA), the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) and members of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), with numerous participants carrying flags and signage featuring socialist imagery like the hammer and sickle.

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Trump: There Could Be a Future Where U.S. Energy Companies Operate in Iran

President Donald Trump said there “could be” a future where American energy companies are operating inside of Iran in response to a question from Breitbart News on Saturday.

Trump spoke to reporters for just over three minutes on the tarmac of Palm Beach International Airport before boarding Air Force One and departing for Miami.

When Breitbart News asked if he envisions a future where American energy companies are operating inside of Iran, much like Venezuela, he said, “Could be.”

“Could be. It could be. I’ll tell you what, we have a lot of ships coming up to Texas and Louisiana. It’s a line of ships,” he said. “You saw the satellite. We have a line of ships; big ones. Two million barrels, and they’re coming up. I mean, literally hundreds of ships are in line to go to Texas. I mean, they’re already started, but we’re selling a lot of oil. A lot of oil.”

Before taking any questions, Trump said that Iran desires a deal.

“[We’re] doing very well with regard to Iran. Again, they want to make a deal. They’re decimated. They’re having a hard time figuring out who their leader is. They don’t know who their leader is because their leader is gone…their former leader,” he told reporters, referring to Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the beginning of Operation Epic Fury.

The president’s gaggle with reporters came soon after reports surfaced from Iranian state media that Iran had countered a 9-point U.S. proposal for a deal to end the war with their own 14-point plan.

Trump said he had not yet read the proposal but would do so aboard the short flight on Air Force One to Miami.

“I’ll let you know about it later,” he said.

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What Do You Think Happened After This English Teen Converted to Islam?

The United Kingdom, and the West in general, is deep in the throes of a severe spiritual malady. Large numbers of people in these historically Christian nations have cast off their ancestral faith, but haven’t managed to find anything that even comes close to filling the spiritual void they have opened up in their lives by doing so.

Meanwhile, they’re constantly told that while their own history and heritage is full of slavery, oppression, and racism, the Muslim migrants who are arriving in Britain (and all over the West) in large numbers are bringing with them a noble, unsullied faith, the overall wonderfulness would be obvious to everyone if not for a wholly unwarranted, race-based “Islamophobia.”

And so the Oxford Mail recently ran an article about a young English lad from Oxfordshire who “converted to Islam as a teenager.” That must mean that he converted within the last three years, as we’re told that he is sixteen now. Judging on the basis of what we’re told about Islam and “Islamophobia,” one might have expected this story to be all about how Islam transformed this young fellow’s life, and led him to feel better, act better, and live better. One might have expected to read happy quotations from the boy’s parents, all about, say, how he had fallen in with a rough crowd, and there are just so many temptations facing young people these days, but then he discovered the Qur’an, and since then, has been quiet, studious, courteous, and serious about bettering himself and making something of himself in this cruel world.

The whole story might have been another establishment media attempt to reassure Britons who are jittery about their country’s present and downright fearful about its future. Everything is going to be all right, you see; Islam is certainly different to what we are used to, but it makes people sober, upright, and godly, and who could possibly object to that? All shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well, if only the “far right” would stop its endless agitating.

But that’s not exactly what the story is about.

Instead, it seems that this new Muslim now stands “accused of having a suicide vest and of supporting Islamic State (IS).” The pious young man has been “charged with stockpiling weapons, explosives and a suicide vest at his family home.” Even that is not all. He is “also accused of supporting IS and is suspected of sharing its propaganda on terrorist attacks as well as footage of battlefield explosions and killings.” He is even “said to have had swords in his possession as well as homemade explosives.”

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Russia Claims Frontline Progress in War With Ukraine, as Drone Strike Kills Two in Kherson

Two people were killed after a Russian drone attacked a minibus in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, local officials said Saturday, in the latest barrage of civilian areas, a hallmark of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

Seven people were also wounded in the attack, regional head Oleksandr Prokudin said. Hours later Russia attacked another minibus in Kherson, wounding the driver, he said.

Meanwhile, along the northern border with Belarus, Ukraine recorded “rather unusual” activity on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram on Saturday. Without elaborating, he said activity was seen on the Belarusian side of the border and that Ukraine would act if matters escalated.

“We are closely documenting and keeping the situation under control. If necessary, we will react,” he said.

Belarus, a close ally of the Kremlin, has allowed Russia to use its territory as a staging ground to send troops into Ukraine and to host some of Moscow’s tactical nuclear weapons.

On Ukraine’s Black Sea coast, a Russian strike damaged port infrastructure in the city of Odesa. No casualties were reported.

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Dutch Nazi Extremist Arrested for Plotting to Kill Princesses Catharina-Amalia and Alexia of the Netherlands

The Princesses have been objects of several nefarious plots.

The future Queen of the Netherlands and her younger sister were targeted by a far-right extremist who developed a ‘Nazi murder plot’ against them before authorities discovered and preempted the attack.

The New York Post reported:

“A 33-year-old man will appear in court next week after he was suspected of planning to harm Princess of Orange Catharina-Amalia, 22, and Princess Alexia, 20, in February.”

Catharina-Amalia is the heir to the throne of the Netherlands, and Alexia is second in line.

“The suspect was captured in The Hague, where he was carrying two axes engraved with the names ‘Alexia’ and ‘Mossad’, Israel’s intelligence agency, as well as ‘Sieg Heil’, the propaganda chant used by Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime, officials said.”

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Fauci Colleague’s Indictment Might Shed Light on Covid’s Murky History

David Morens was formerly a senior adviser to Anthony Fauci when he was the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Morens also co-authored several science papers with the former director. One of these argued hubristically in Cell that the U.N. and the World Health Organization should be empowered to “rebuild the structure of human existence” toward the end of preventing future pandemics. Imagine the bureaucratic possibilities!

Back in 2024, Morens was suspected of avoiding FOIA requests around the funding of gain-of-function research that might have led to Covid. Soon thereafter, Fauci distanced himself from his former colleague in congressional testimony, stating that while Morens had helped with some science papers, he wasn’t really an adviser on NIAID policy.

Now, Morens has been indicted. From the DOJ press release:

A former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) employee is facing indictment for his role in a scheme to evade Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests in connection with COVID-19 research grants.

David M. Morens, 78, of Chester, Maryland, is charged with conspiracy against the United States; destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in federal investigations; concealment, removal, or mutilation of records; and aiding and abetting. Morens served as a senior advisor in NIAID’s Office of the Director from 2006 through 2022.

“These allegations represent a profound abuse of trust at a time when the American people needed it most — during the height of a global pandemic,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “As alleged in the indictment, Dr. Morens and his co-conspirators deliberately concealed information and falsified records in an effort to suppress alternative theories regarding the origins of COVID-19.”

Intriguingly, two unnamed “co-conspirators” are alleged to have participated in the information-suppressing plot:

According to the indictment, Morens, Co-Conspirator 1, Co-Conspirator 2, and others conspired during the COVID-19 pandemic to defraud and commit several offenses against the United States after NIH terminated Co-Conspirator 1’s grant. NIH terminated the grant, Understanding the Risk of Bat Coronavirus Emergence (bat coronavirus grant), based on allegations that COVID-19 emerged from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) in Wuhan, China. NIAID awarded the grant to Company #1 and Co-Conspirator 1, who made a subaward to the WIV.

Following the termination, Morens and Co-Conspirator 2 pledged to help Co-Conspirator 1 restore the termination of the bat coronavirus grant and counter the narrative that COVID-19 leaked from a lab. In anticipation that their communications would be requested through a FOIA Request, Morens, Co-Conspirator 1, and Co-Conspirator 2 agreed in writing to intentionally hide from public view their communications by corresponding using Morens’s personal Gmail account, rather than his official NIH email account.

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Meta Terminates Contract with Kenya After Workers Shared Intimate Videos Recorded by Smart Glasses

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has ended its contract with Sama, a Kenya-based data annotation company, two months after workers reported viewing sensitive footage ranging from sexual activity to bathroom breaks recorded by Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.

Ars Technica reports that Meta has terminated its business relationship with Sama, a Kenyan data annotation firm, following reports that contracted workers had viewed explicit and private content captured by Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. The contract termination, which affected 1,108 workers according to Sama, occurred less than two months after the allegations became public.

In February, multiple workers from Sama reported viewing sensitive, embarrassing, and apparently private footage while performing data annotation work for Meta. The complaints were featured in a report by Swedish newspapers Svenska Dagbladet and Göteborgs-Posten, along with Kenya-based freelance journalist Naipanoi Lepapa. Workers described watching explicit footage shot from Ray-Ban Meta glasses, including people changing clothes, doing drugs, having sex, and using the toilet.

Sama, headquartered in Kenya, had been contracted by Meta to perform data annotation work involving video, image, and speech annotation for Meta’s AI systems used in Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. The company’s workers were tasked with reviewing content to help improve the performance of Meta’s AI products.

A Meta spokesperson told Breitbart News, “Last month, we paused our work with Sama while we looked into these claims. We take them seriously. Photos and videos are private to users. Humans review AI content to improve product performance, for which we get clear user consent. We’ve also decided to end our work with Sama because they don’t meet our standards.”

Sama workers believe the contract was terminated in retaliation for speaking out about the disturbing content they encountered during their work. One anonymous Sama employee was quoted in the February report saying workers “are just expected to carry out the work” even when viewing private footage.

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Sports Leagues Warned That Failing to Protect Women’s Sports Breaks the Law

Several sports leagues in the United Kingdom received a notice threatening them with legal action if they fail to protect women’s sports from self-proclaimed transgender athletes.

The letters — signed by ADF International and the Women’s Sports Union — were sent to 10 sports bodies, including the Football Association of Wales, Swim England, and British Gymnastics.

Two elite former British athletes — Sharron Elizabeth Davies, a member of the House of Lords who competed in Olympic swimming, and Tracy Edwards, who was a competitive sailor — also signed the letters.

Both women have been awarded with the “Most Excellent Order of the British Empire” — a royal order of chivalry that recognizes public service and other contributions to British life.

The coalition said that the sports entities “are in breach of the law” and asked for “confirmation of the immediate steps the bodies will take to remedy the situation,” according to an April 23 release from ADF International.

“Any governing body that continues to permit biological males to compete in the female category contravenes the Equality Act 2010 as interpreted by the Supreme Court. This exposes the organisation to immediate and substantial legal liability,” the letters said.

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California Can’t Define ‘Hate Speech’ But May Mandate Workplace Training Anyway

“Hate speech” is notoriously hard to define and is usually a subjective characterization of harsh words. Though the term is thrown around by people describing comments they don’t like, it generally refers to expression that might not be nice but is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution as well as state speech protections. But that’s not going to stop California lawmakers from trying to hector people into refraining from voicing nasty sentiments.

Existing California law requires employers with five or more employees to provide at least two hours of training regarding sexual harassment to all supervisors, and at least one hour of training to all other employees, repeated every two years. Assembly Bill 1803, introduced by Assemblymembers Josh Lowenthal (D–Long Beach) and Rick Chavez Zbur (D–Los Angeles) and co-authored by Assemblymember Corey Jackson (D–Moreno Valley), “would additionally require that the above-described training and education include, as a component of the training and education, anti-hate speech training.”

In a press release, Lowenthal claims that “AB 1803 is about making our workplaces safer, more respectful, and more inclusive for everyone. Hate speech has no place on the job, just as sexual harassment has no place on the job. By incorporating anti hate speech training into existing sexual harassment prevention programs, we are building on a proven framework to address harmful behavior before it escalates.”

What the world really doesn’t need, it should be noted, is more state-mandated nagging about the allegedly naughty activities we shouldn’t engage in. As PBS’s Rhana Natour reported in 2018, “there’s little evidence that sexual harassment training works.” A 2016 U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission report concluded that “much of the training done over the last 30 years has not worked as a prevention tool—it’s been too focused on simply avoiding legal liability.” Research by Justine Tinkler, a sociologist at the University of Georgia, found that such training mostly reinforces traditional views of sex roles by portraying men as predators and women as victims. But training is an effective time suck.

Hate speech has the added burden of being primarily a political term used to describe expression that somebody doesn’t like. This makes it very difficult to describe in an actionable way in a country that has vigorous speech protections. California’s lawmakers have not risen to the challenge.

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