15 people with hantavirus have been removed from a cruise ship and are being quarantined in the US.

COVID first appeared with 12 people off a cruise ship in California. Then-President Trump told us not to worry, the disease will run its course in 14 days.

As of January 20, 2021, when Donald Trump left office, the official COVID-19 death toll in the United States was over 400,000, some saying 450,000, some say more.

15 hantavirus . . . Trump is President . . . and Dr. Fauci is retired.

We are fucked.

Sure, Donald. pic.twitter.com/UowKRzONxu

— The Lincoln Project Advocacy (@LPAdvocacy) May 8, 2026

Chief Justice John Roberts says Supreme Court is not political

Source: AP

Updated 10:24 PM EDT, May 6, 2026

HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) — Supreme Court justices are not “political actors,” Chief Justice John Roberts said Wednesday, insisting unpopular court decisions are based solely on the law. “I think, at a very basic level, people think we’re making policy decisions, we’re saying we think this is how things should be, as opposed to what the law provides,” he said. “I think they view us as purely political actors, which I don’t think is an accurate understanding of what we do.”

His remarks to a conference of judges and lawyers from the 3rd U.S. Circuit in Pennsylvania came at a time of low public confidence in the court, and about a week after the court handed down a decision that hollowed out the Voting Rights Act.

The high court struck down a majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana, finding it was an unconstitutional gerrymander based on race. The decision weakened the Civil Rights era law that has increased minority representation in Congress, and it opened the door for more redistricting across the country that could aid Republican efforts to control the House.

In recent years, the conservative majority court has also handed down landmark rulings overturning the constitutional right to abortion, expanding gun rights and ending affirmative action in higher education.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-chief-justice-8933cfe269c90746e200f2588801dfae

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And none of this was political either.

 

 

 

Trump counterterrorism strategy targets ‘violent left-wing extremists’ with ‘transgender ideology’

Source: Politico

“Violent left-wing extremists” and “extremist transgender ideology” are among the most concerning threats facing the country, according to the Trump administration counterterrorism strategy released Wednesday.

The strategy, the first released in President Donald Trump’s second term, underscores how Trump’s priorities differ from predecessors, listing “violent left-wing extremists” as one of its top three focuses, alongside “narcoterrorists” and “Islamist terrorists.”

-snip-

“It’s also about the ideology, whether it’s against Western Civilization, America, the U.S. Constitution, our friends, our allies, peace in general, you fit under that rubric,” he said.

“Our national counterterrorism activities will prioritize the rapid identification and neutralization of violent, secular political groups whose ideology is anti-American, radically pro-gender or anarchist such as antifa, we will use all the tools constitutionally available to us to map them at home, identify their membership, map their ties to international organizations,” Gorka said of the modes the administration will use to target the left-wing groups.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/06/trump-counterterrorism-strategy-vows-to-counter-violent-left-wing-extremists-with-transgender-ideology-00909284

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/05/kash-patel-fbi-bourbon/687066/

One of J. Edgar Hoover’s greatest reforms at the FBI was his embrace of fingerprinting. During the 1930s, visitors to the FBI offices in Washington, D.C., received souvenir fingerprint cards featuring his name. The men who succeeded him as FBI director were more discreet and judicious, mindful of the cult of personality that had developed around Hoover. They generally avoided giving out branded swag.

But then came Kash Patel.

President Trump’s FBI director has a great deal of affection for swag. Merchandise for sale on a website he co-founded—still operating, nearly 15 months into his term—includes beanies ($35), T-shirts ($35), orange camo hoodies ($65), trucker caps ($25), “government gangsters” playing cards (on sale for $10), and a Fight With Kash Punisher scarf ($25).

One thing not for sale is liquor, because liquor is something Patel gives away for free.

Last month, I reported that FBI personnel were alarmed by what they said was erratic behavior and excessive drinking by Patel. (The FBI director has denied the allegations and filed a defamation suit against The Atlantic and me.)

After my story appeared, I heard from people in Patel’s orbit and people he has met at public functions, who told me that it is not unusual for him to travel with a supply of personalized branded bourbon. The bottles bear the imprint of the Kentucky distillery Woodford Reserve, and are engraved with the words “Kash Patel FBI Director,” as well as a rendering of an FBI shield. Surrounding the shield is a band of text featuring Patel’s director title and his favored spelling of his first name: Ka$h. An eagle holds the shield in its talons, along with the number 9, presumably a reference to Patel’s place in the history of FBI directors. In some cases, the 750-milliliter bottles bear Patel’s signature, with “#9” there as well. One such bottle popped up on an online auction site shortly after my story appeared, and The Atlantic later purchased it. (The person who sold it to us did not want to be named, but said that the bottle was a gift from Patel at an event in Las Vegas.)

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Department of Defense and FBI . . . both commanded by drunken lushes, Patel and Hegseth.

BREAKING: in April 2026, *every single one* of the 1,570 refugees admitted in the United States were white South Africans.

In FY 2026, the U.S. has admitted a total of 6,066 white South Africans, three Afghans (back in November 2025), and nobody else.

https://www.rpc.state.gov/documents/Refugee%20Arrivals%20by%20State%20and%20Nationality%20as%20of%20April%2030,%202026.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

President Trump announced on Tuesday evening that he was pausing the day-old U.S. operation to escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz “for a short period of time,” citing what he said was “great progress” toward an agreement with Iran.

His announcement, in a social media post, came only hours after Secretary of State Marco Rubio asserted that the United States had concluded combat operations against Iran and was fully focused on the new mission. Only three commercial ships have managed to make it through the strait since the United States began the operation, dubbed Project Freedom, on Monday.

The president’s sudden U-turn on the escort mission was just his latest over the course of the war, which is now in its third month. When the U.S. Central Command was asked for comment on the change, a spokesman referred questions to the White House.

Mr. Rubio, briefing reporters at the White House earlier, had expanded on Mr. Trump’s assertion last week that he did not need to seek approval from Congress to continue the war in Iran beyond a 60-day legal limit, and said: “The operation is over: Epic Fury — as the president notified Congress — we’re done with that stage of it. We’re now onto this Project of Freedom.”

The war is in a shaky cease-fire, and ship traffic in the strait is a major point of contention. Iran, whose drones and missiles threaten both shipping and neighboring countries, has warned repeatedly that vessels can pass through the strait only with its permission.

At the same time, the U.S. blockade is keeping Iranian ships from crossing. Mr. Trump said in his post on Tuesday evening that the blockade would “remain in full force and effect.”

Commercial traffic is at a near-total standstill. Two commercial vessels crossed the strait under U.S. military protection on Monday and only one on Tuesday — a trickle compared to before the war, when around 130 vessels a day made the passage.

On Tuesday, the United States and Iran made competing claims about having control of the strait, which remains effectively closed. And an American ally, the United Arab Emirates, said that it had come under attack by Iranian missiles and drones for the second day in a row.

So — let’s sum up where things stand in Operation Trump’s Head Up HIs Ass:

Trump humiliated Rubio by having him defend Project Freedom to the hilt at a presser today, only to unilaterally suspend the “project” this evening

Per the Eurasia Group, Trump pulled the plug on it because 1) Iran sank a South Korean tanker and nearly took out two other ships despite US naval protection, and 2) Trump was informed by a liaison to the international shipping insurance consortium that none of their members would support it without Iran agreeing not to shoot.

In other words, Iran holds all the cards to get Trump out of this quagmire. He has to bend the knee. Is he smart enough to realize that, cut a deal and move on?