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Mamdani Proposes Massive Estate Tax Exemption Cut From $7M To $750K, Among Other Tax Increases

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is urging Albany to consider a sweeping overhaul of New York’s estate tax, proposing to sharply lower the exemption threshold and dramatically increase the top rate on large inheritances. His plan would cut the exemption from more than $7 million to $750,000 while boosting the highest tax rate from 16 percent to 50 percent, Bloomberg reported. 

The idea was included in a policy memo his administration recently shared with state lawmakers as they negotiate the state budget, according to NY Focus.

The estate tax proposal is one of several revenue measures Mamdani’s office has floated as the city prepares for a significant budget gap. New York City is projecting a $5.4 billion deficit for the fiscal year that begins July 1, and the mayor is asking state officials to help identify new sources of funding to help close the shortfall.

Among the other proposals is a narrower package of business tax increases aimed specifically at companies operating in the city. The administration estimates those changes could generate about $1.75 billion annually. Under the plan, the city’s corporate tax rate would rise to 10.8 percent for financial firms and to 10.62 percent for other corporations, while the tax on large unincorporated businesses would increase modestly for firms earning more than $5 million.

Mamdani is also proposing to scale back the Pass-Through Entity Tax credit, which currently allows certain business owners to use company tax payments to fully offset what they owe in personal income taxes. Limiting that credit to 75 percent of its value would produce roughly $700 million a year, according to city estimates. The mayor continues to advocate for raising the local income tax rate on residents earning more than $1 million annually, a measure projected to bring in about $3 billion each year.

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Cuban protesters ransack Communist office as energy crisis deepens

Protesters in Cuba have ransacked a Communist Party building following a rally over steep food prices and persistent power cuts, in a rare show of public dissent.

Five people were arrested after a small group vandalised the offices in the central city of Moron overnight into Saturday, Cuba’s Interior Ministry (Minint) said.

Discontent among Cubans has been mounting as the island is buffeted by rolling blackouts and shortages of food, fuel and medicine, exacerbated by a prolonged US oil blockade.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said that, while the protesters’ complaints and demands were “legitimate”, “violence and vandalism that threatens citizen tranquility” would not be tolerated.

He wrote on X that the prolonged blackouts had understandably caused “distress”, blaming them on the US blockade that he characterised as having “cruelly intensified in recent months”.

The protest came hours after the government in Havana confirmed that talks with the US to “seek solutions through dialogue” to the two countries’ differences were under way.

Díaz-Canel said in a national broadcast on Friday that no fuel had entered the country in three months as a result of the US oil blockade.

US President Donald Trump has made no secret of his desire for a change in Cuba’s leadership. He said on Monday that Cuba was in “deep trouble” as he threatened a “friendly takeover”.

Trump previously said the one-party state would be “next” following the capture of its ally, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, in January.

Since then, the US has blocked Venezuelan oil shipments – which provided for about half of Cuba’s energy needs – and threatened to impose tariffs on any country that sold oil to the island nation. This is on top of a six-decade US trade embargo.

Havana relies heavily on imported fuel for electricity generation, and the oil blockade has brought Cuba’s beleaguered economy close to collapse.

The crisis has affected rubbish collection, emergency hospital wards, public transport and education.

Friday’s demonstration “initially began peacefully” before escalating into “acts of vandalism”, state-run newspaper Invasor said.

“A smaller group of people stoned the entrance to the building and started a fire in the street with furniture from the reception area.”

Other state-run facilities, including a pharmacy and a government-operated market were also targeted, it added.

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Ohio Democrat’s Allegation of Kennedy Center Exclusion Debunked After Email Found in Her Spam Folder

Questions over whether Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) had been excluded from a Kennedy Center board meeting emerged after she accused President Donald Trump and the Kennedy Center’s board of leaving her out, though court filings later indicated the invitation had been sent and was found in her personal email spam folder.

CNN reporter Betsy Klein posted about the development on X, writing: “In today’s edition of Washington is Veep: A Democratic congresswoman made a legal complaint against President Donald Trump for, in part, excluding her from an upcoming Kennedy Center board meeting. The invitation, it turned out, was in her spam folder. Aide filed an update today.”

Klein also shared a screenshot from a court filing describing how the email was ultimately located. The filing states: “On March 6, 2026, after learning that Defendant’s counsel represented to the Court that the Center sent the notice to Congresswoman Beatty’s personal email address, I asked Congresswoman Beatty to search her personal email. She was able to locate the notice in the spam folder of her personal email address.”

Roma Daravi, vice president of public relations for the Kennedy Center, responded in a quote tweet: “Did the dog also eat her homework?”

The issue surfaced as Beatty pursues legal action related to governance of the Kennedy Center. According to reporting from The Hill, the Ohio Democrat’s attorneys initially stated in court filings that she had not been invited to a March 16 meeting where a proposed renovation of the center is expected to be discussed.

The Justice Department noted the invitation had been sent, and Beatty’s legal team later confirmed it had been delivered but landed in the spam folder of her personal email account. Her lawyers wrote in a filing that the congresswoman “appreciates Defendants’ confirmation that she can attend the meeting at the White House.”

Beatty told reporters invitations to Kennedy Center board meetings typically go to her scheduler and chief of staff rather than her personal email. She explained her chief of staff had stopped receiving the emails months earlier and her scheduler did not receive the March 16 invitation. After the hearing, her attorney Norm Eisen revealed the message had been caught by a spam filter, speaking to reporters, “I doubt there’s a single person here who hasn’t had an email vanished somewhere in a spam filter. That’s what happened here.”

The dispute arose during a hearing before U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper over Beatty’s request for a temporary restraining order tied to a Kennedy Center board meeting. Beatty, an ex officio trustee, argues she should be allowed to participate and vote on plans involving the institution.

In court filings, Justice Department lawyer William Jankowski wrote that Beatty “will not be permitted to vote” because board procedures distinguish ex officio trustees from governing trustees.

Cooper said he would take the motion under advisement and aim to rule quickly, calling the proposed overhaul of the performing arts venue “a pretty big deal” for what he described as the nation’s premier performing arts center.

In December 2025, the Democratic lawmaker sued President Trump and members of the center’s board after the institution was renamed to include Trump’s name. Beatty has contended that Congress alone has the authority to change the institution’s name and maintained she had been muted during the board call when the decision was made.

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Iran War Exposes America’s Unfixed Supply Chains

One of the more fascinating sidelights of our war of choice in Iran is how it has reinforced the devastating consequences of our hollowed-out industrial base, consolidated commercial sector, and overreliance on long intermediated supply chains.

For example, the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz carries implications for not only oil but also fertilizer, right at the height of the spring planting season. About one-third of the world’s fertilizer ships through the strait, and without access, prices have jumped and farmers are anxious. Yet there are enough natural resources in the United States—nitrogen, phosphate, potash—to serve all our fertilizer needs; in fact, in the 1930s and ’40s one of the largest fertilizer producers in the world was the Tennessee Valley Authority. This production was wound down in the 1970s; today the industry is dominated by two to four firms, and that may end up having existential implications for hungry people the world over.

A more comically shortsighted example concerns our depleted stock of munitions, one of the few industrial capacities America has retained but which still is imperiled by concentration and outsourcing. These are of course the basic materials necessary to prosecute a war, and you’d think it would be the one item countries would retain the ability to produce themselves. But our trillion-dollar military operates more like a welfare program to help underprivileged Northern Virginia contractors buy second homes and luxury yachts, not as a force that has what it needs when it needs it. Pacifists should rejoice; stupidity in military supply chains puts a binding limit on how many brown-skinned people we can kill.

In the 1990s, dozens of military contractors were reduced to five prime integrators, something demanded by Clinton Defense Secretary Les Aspin and his deputy (and future defense secretary) William Perry at a meeting known as the “Last Supper.” Nearly all weapons and delivery systems now flow through Boeing, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and General Dynamics. Executives at these companies were called into the White House last Friday—less than a week after the war began—to discuss how to accelerate offensive and especially defensive weapons production amid a shortage that already was weighing on the military. This was after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the war was saved by shifting to smaller bombs rather than “exquisite” munitions for the campaign. If that was the case, why have the meeting?

Specifically, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile systems are so complex that only 96 get built per year; about one-quarter of the U.S. stockpile was used last year in Israel’s brief war with Iran, with many more flying every day as this war continues. Patriot interceptor systems are cheaper and easier to build, but inventories were a quarter full before the war started. Offensive Tomahawk missiles can be produced with greater frequency as well, but as of October last year the stockpile of that weapon was far short of its target. Something like $5.6 billion in weaponry was burned off in just the first two days of the Iran campaign. Trump’s lying aside, analysts who know something are clear on this point: The nation has a few weeks of bombing left before running out of the precision munitions typically used in modern warfare.

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Mamdani ‘Comforts’ NYC Muslims After Outbreak of ‘Islamophobia’

New York City’s far-left Gothamist has the sads, because when one member of the left’s conglomeration of haters, traitors, freaks, parasites and psychopaths suffers, the whole coalition of the weird suffers. This time, however, there is a silver lining: one of the bright stars of the contemporary left, New York Mayor Zohan Mamdani, is on the case. 

The Gothamist headline on Friday was: “’We are enough’: After Islamophobic attacks, Mamdani comforts NYC’s Muslim community.” That’s superb, but left unanswered was the question of who comforts the victims of the nationwide Muslim community when some members of that community decide it’s time to wage jihad. 

Gothamist stated that “just hours before he was set to speak at an event marking Ramadan, Mayor Zohran Mamdani realized he needed to overhaul his prepared remarks.” This was because “in the last few days, Mamdani and Muslims throughout the country had been subjected to a torrent of Islamophobia.”

In discussing this alleged “torrent of Islamophobia,” Gothamist did not see fit to remind its readers — or inform them for the first time, since these are leftists we’re talking about — that there have been four jihad attacks in the U.S. in the last two weeks. Ramadan, after all, has been called the “month of jihad,” and with good reason. This year, the festivities began on March 1, when a Muslim migrant opened fire in a bar in Austin, Texas, killing three people and injuring 13 others.

Then on March 7, two Muslims screaming “Allah akbar” threw a homemade shrapnel bomb at a crowd of pro-freedom protesters in New York City itself, the home of Gothamist and Zohran Mamdani. Then on March 12, a Muslim crashed his car into a Michigan synagogue and opened fire, while another Muslim started shooting at Old Dominion University, murdering one person and injuring two others.

Steadfastly ignoring all this and much more that might lead the potential victims of more such attacks to be suspicious of Islam or even dislike it outright, Gothamist quoted Mamdani addressing a crowd of Muslims who had gathered at City Hall for an iftar dinner: “When I hear such hatred and disdain unchecked in its rancor, I feel an isolation and a loneliness that I know that many of you have felt as well.”

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Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Lower In Recent Months, Preliminary Data Show

The effectiveness of vaccines against influenza dropped during the 2025–2026 virus season, officials said on March 12, about two months after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stopped recommending flu vaccination for all children.

Vaccine effectiveness for late 2025 and early 2026 against outpatient visits and hospitalization was pegged at 14 percent to 48 percent among children, Dr. Lisa Grohskopf, with the CDC’s Influenza Division, said at a meeting hosted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The shielding among adults was just 22 percent to 34 percent, she said, based on data from CDC networks in 16 states.

Influenza vaccine effectiveness since 2009 has dropped as low as 19 percent and risen as high as 60 percent. It was 56 percent in late 2024 and early 2025, according to the CDC.

Grohskopf said the reasons for the decline from the prior season are not yet clear. Factors could include that fewer people received vaccines and a mismatch between strains in the vaccines and the strains that ended up circulating.

Most influenza cases in recent months have been caused by influenza A viruses, particularly an H3N2 subvariant called subclade K.

Grohskopf said the data are preliminary and could end up changing.

William Gruner, representing Department of War scientists, said at the same meeting that vaccine effectiveness among department networks against influenza-like illness from Nov. 9, 2025, through Feb. 21, 2026, was 32 percent among children and 46 percent among adults.

“Still a lot more data to be collected this season, so things can certainly change,” Gruner said.

They presented to the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee during the largely virtual meeting.

Dr. Hayley Gans, a committee member, said she was concerned that the estimates were inaccurate.

“I think this data doesn’t support at least for what we see in pediatrics,” she told Grohskopf.

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PressSec Demands Retraction of ABC Report on Alleged Iranian Drone Threat

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called on ABC News to retract prior reporting that the FBI warned of an Iranian drone attack on California in retaliation for US actions.

ABC reported that the FBI had assessed that Iran had considered or aspired to conduct drone attacks in California, according to law-enforcement sources cited by the outlet, and that investigators were examining intelligence indicating Iran had explored the possibility of launching drones from ships or other platforms near the US West Coast.

Leavitt said the report was inaccurate and demanded that ABC issue a correction or retraction, arguing the reporting misrepresented intelligence about potential Iranian retaliation.

No Iranian attack on California has occurred, and officials said authorities continue to monitor potential threats.

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Democrats Already Plotting Investigations of Companies, Colleges, and Law Firms for Working With Trump

Democrats in the Senate and the House are apparently already planning to investigate companies, schools, and even law firms for the crime of working with President Trump.

For months, all we have heard from these people is that Trump is on a revenge tour. And what are they doing right now? They’re plotting their revenge on America tour.

These people are stuck in a loop. They are still trying to ‘get Trump’ when the rest of the country moved on long ago. Trump won the popular vote and all of the swing states, but Democrats simply refuse to accept that.

Breitbart News reports:

Democrats in both chambers of Congress are plotting potential investigations into companies, colleges, and even law firms that worked with the Trump administration, according to a report.

Axios reported that Democrats are in the early stages of planning to use their subpoena power if they take power after the 2026 midterm elections.

Sens. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), all of whom serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee, have been involved in the preliminary discussions, according to Axios.

Schiff led the first impeachment effort against President Donald Trump as Democrats falsely alleged that the president colluded with Russia during the 2016 presidential election cycle.

The outlet claimed that both Republican and Democrat lawmakers believe that the House is likely to come under control of the Democrat Party after the midterms. The House has broader subpoena authority than the Senate.

While Democrats expect the Trump administration to fight back against investigations, companies, colleges, and other private citizens do not have the same institutional power to fight back against the Democrats’ potential investigations. Democrats would likely investigate why major institutions chose to work with the Trump administration. Axios said they would likely choose to investigate donations for the East Wing renovation as well as funding agreements involving institutions of higher education.

This is all the Democrats have to offer.

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Member of Jasmine Crockett’s Security Detail Killed in Standoff with Dallas SWAT Officers

Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett’s security officer was fatally shot by Dallas SWAT officers this week.

The security officer, Mike King, was a fugitive after impersonating a law enforcement officer.

King was killed in his garage during a standoff with Dallas SWAT officers on Wednesday night.

According to CBS News, he drove a “replica undercover police vehicle” with license plates “stolen from cars outside a military recruiting office.”

King reportedly has an extensive criminal history.

It is unclear how King was able to serve as Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s security detail despite his criminal background.

CBS reported:

A man shot and killed by Dallas police earlier this week was a familiar figure in North Texas law enforcement – and part of the security detail for U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, sources told CBS News Texas.

Multiple law enforcement sources tell CBS News Texas the man, known publicly as Mike King, had been using aliases while running a business that placed officers in off‑duty jobs.

King was killed Wednesday night after a standoff with Dallas police SWAT officers. Police say he fled into a hospital parking garage, barricaded himself inside a vehicle, and was forced out by tear gas before pulling a gun on officers.

Sources say he was wanted for impersonating a law enforcement officer and had claimed to be one while operating Off Duty Police Services, an online platform connecting North Texas officers with off‑duty work. Authorities have not released his real name.

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Israel plans major ground operation in Lebanon: ‘We will do what we did in Gaza,’ officials say

Israel is planning a significant expansion of its ground operation in Lebanon, with the aim of taking control of all territory south of the Litani River and dismantling Hezbollah’s military infrastructure, Israeli and U.S. officials told Axios.

“We’re going to do what we did in Gaza,” a senior Israeli official said, referring to flattening buildings used by Hezbollah to store weapons and launch missile attacks.

The Trump administration supports a broad Israeli operation to disarm Hezbollah, but is also pressing Israel to limit damage to the Lebanese state and is calling for direct talks between Israel and Lebanon that would lead to an agreement at the end of the war.

Israeli officials said that until a few days ago Israel was still trying to avoid escalation in Lebanon in order to focus on the Iranian arena. That changed after Hezbollah fired more than 200 rockets in less than 24 hours in what officials described as a coordinated attack with Iran.

“Before this attack we were ready for a ceasefire in Lebanon, but after it there is no way back from a large-scale military operation,” a senior Israeli official said.

Overnight Saturday, Hezbollah again fired rockets toward northern Israel, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officially announced that the attack had been coordinated, including missiles launched from Iran. Heavy damage was reported in the Hatzor HaGlilit area in that combined barrage.

According to Axios, three infantry and armored brigades have been stationed along Israel’s northern border since the start of the war with Iran, with some of the forces carrying out “limited incursions” over the past two weeks.

The IDF said Friday it was reinforcing troops and transferring reservists to the north as part of preparations for the possible expansion of the ground operation.

“The goal is to seize territory, push Hezbollah forces north and away from the border, and dismantle the military positions and weapons depots in the villages,” the senior Israeli official said.

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