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The “86 47” slogan made infamous by former FBI Director James Comey was seen on signs at multiple May Day protests.Photos captured by Fox News Digital in New York City and Los Angeles showed several demonstrators holding signs with the numbers “86 47,” including one with the message, “86 the whole regime.” Comey was indicted this week for a second time by the Justice Department, with charges appearing to be related to his May 2025 Instagram photo of an “86 47” shell formation on a beach. In the slang often used in the service industry, to “86” something means to eject, cancel or get rid of it. And President Donald Trump is the 47th president.JAMES COMEY INDICTED AGAIN IN NEW JUSTICE DEPARTMENT PROBEComey is charged with “knowingly and willfully making a threat to take the life of, or inflict bodily harm upon, the President of the United States and knowingly and willfully transmitting a communication in interstate and foreign commerce that contained a threat to kill President Donald Trump,” according to the indictment. Both charges, released Tuesday by the DOJ, carry up to 10 years in prison. The move follows a wave of criticism from Republicans and Trump administration officials who viewed Comey’s post as a veiled threat. May Day Strong, which was the main organizer of Friday’s demonstrations, described them as “workers, students, and families” rallying, marching and taking action “across the country to demand a nation that puts workers over billionaires, with many refusing business as usual through No School. No Work. No Shopping.”MAY DAY DEMONSTRATIONS DRAW THOUSANDS ACROSS THE USMay Day’s roots trace back to the 19th century, when Marxists, socialists and labor unions called for a day of strikes in Paris and later became a national holiday in the Soviet Union after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. While May Day began as an effort to protect worker rights, the big-money political operations of labor unions today give the protest a partisan bias that is focused very much today on anti-Trump rhetoric, critics say. Approximately 600 groups with $2 billion in an active annual revenues were slated to host an estimated 6,000 events nationwide for pro-socialist May Day demonstrations on Friday, a Fox News Digital investigation found.Comey’s May 2025 Instagram post showed the numbers “86 47″ arranged in shells on a beach.”Cool shell formation on my beach walk…,” Comey captioned the post. It was later deleted. Fox News’ David Spunt, Bill Mears and Jake Gibson, as well as Fox News Digital’s Asra Nomani, Louis Casiano and Preston Mizell contributed to this report. 

With all of the playoff basketball going on, it seems like I’ve forgotten all about baseball. However, that’s not the case. I’ve still been monitoring it, and we’ve collected some cash on the few bets I’ve put out on the game lately. Today, I have a really strong look at the game between the Reds and Pirates that takes place in Pittsburgh.The Reds are one of the best teams in baseball, which is not exactly something that I expected to write this season. They made the postseason last year, but considering the lack of moves in the offseason, I just didn’t expect them to be great.What is probably the most surprising about the Reds is just how good they have been on the road this season. Last year, there wasn’t really any good road team. Those that were above .500, with the exception of the Astros, made the postseason.CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COMToday, the Reds look to keep that success going with Rhett Lowder on the hill. For the year, Lowder is 3-1 with a 3.18 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. He has made six starts for the year, with exactly half coming at home and on the road. He has an ERA a full run lower on the road than at home, allowing five earned over 17.1 innings. Four of those runs came in one game against the Marlins. The Pirates are hitting just 2-for-11 against Lowder in their careers.The Pirates are better than they were last year, but not exactly a successful club at the moment. They are hovering around .500 for the season, which is about what they were doing last year. The team still needs to figure out hitting, but they are doing better than last year.They lost five straight games before this series, losing one to the Brewers and four to the Cardinals. Maybe it was just a bad stretch, or maybe it is a sign of things to come. In those games, they allowed 35 runs and scored 18. That’s an average of seven allowed and 3.6 scored.ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW! Trying to get the Pirates back on track is Carmen Mlodzinski. For the year, he is 1-2 with a 4.13 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. He has been substantially better at home, but most of his opportunities have come on the road. He is pitching to a 1.69 ERA and allowed just two earned runs over 10.2 innings. His lone home start saw him go six scoreless innings and allow two hits and two walks. In his history, he has allowed just three hits in 27 at-bats against the Reds.We have two starters today who are in better situations for them. Mlodzinski has been better at home, and Lowder better on the road. These are still small sample sizes, but it is a bit encouraging. The way the Pirates have been bleeding runs makes me concerned that the under will be toast. The Reds have been a bit all over the place with scoring and runs allowed.In this particular situation, I think it makes the most sense to back the under. Both teams have been playing higher-scoring games right now, but with these two hurlers, we should see fewer runs.For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024 

Just 10 minutes of daily floor exercises may improve balance, flexibility and agility, according to a new study.Researchers in Japan, including those at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, found participants improved in standing balance, side-to-side agility and trunk flexibility after completing the specific routine, according to the study, published in April in the journal PLOS One.The program, performed lying on the back daily for two weeks, was designed to link core stability with lower-body coordination.FITNESS EXPERTS SAY VIRAL WORKOUT FEELS ‘TOO EASY’ BUT DELIVERS REAL HEALTH BENEFITS”One of the biggest practical takeaways is that even a short, low-load exercise program performed lying down may still improve important physical functions,” corresponding author Tomoaki Atomi told Fox News Digital.”Many people may assume that improving movement requires intense standing exercise or strength training, but our findings suggest that improving how the body coordinates movement — particularly between the trunk and lower limbs — may also be highly valuable,” he added.The study included two experiments. In the first, 17 healthy young men followed the routine and were compared to a control period. In the second, 22 young adults were tested before and after the program to see how it affected their movement during an agility task.VIRAL VIDEOS SHOW RIPPED GYM BROS COLLAPSING DURING PILATES WORKOUTSResearchers said the routine was built around three main elements: abdominal activation, linking the trunk and lower body through a bridge-like movement, and lower-extremity coordination exercises that also included toe and ankle work. The exercises were done lying face-up, a position the authors said is more stable and less demanding than standing.The researchers stressed that proper technique — particularly involving the toes and ankle positioning — is important to achieving the intended benefits.They suggested the routine may be most useful when performed in the morning, as a way to “wake up” the body’s balance and coordination systems.KEY FITNESS MEASURE IS STRONG PREDICTOR OF LONGEVITY AFTER CERTAIN AGE, STUDY FINDSBut not every fitness marker improved, according to the researchers. They did not find significant gains in grip strength, standing long jumps, 50-meter sprint performance or other measures tied more closely to raw strength and explosive power. Instead, the benefits appeared more closely linked to movement control and neuromuscular coordination.”The most meaningful finding to us was not simply that flexibility improved, but that balance and side-step performance also improved without significant changes in maximal strength or power,” Atomi said.The routine, therefore could serve as a tool rather than a full workout replacement. The authors said the findings should be viewed as early evidence supporting feasibility, not proof of clinical effectiveness.OLDER ADULTS SHOULD TARGET THESE MUSCLES WHEN STRENGTH-TRAINING, SAYS FITNESS PROThey also acknowledged several limitations, including small sample sizes, the short two-week duration, the lack of a control group in the second experiment, and the fact that the participants were healthy young adults, most of them men.It’s also unclear whether the improvements would translate to real-world outcomes like fewer falls.Outside experts say the distinctions and limitations are key to consider.CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER”Two weeks is too short to build muscle and the data confirm that,” said Jordan Weiss, assistant professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and a scientific writer at Assisted Living Magazine. “What did improve was coordination, which is the brain learning faster than the body can grow.”Weiss added that short-term improvements may also reflect how quickly participants adapt to the testing itself.”Healthy young adults adapt to almost any motor task within days,” he said. “Some of this is real neural change, and some is just familiarity with the test.”CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIESNonetheless, the researchers said the approach may be worth studying further in older adults and in rehabilitation settings, especially because the routine is low-load and can be performed in a safe and stable position.Weiss agreed that the approach has practical value as a starting point.”The supine setup takes the fall risk out of the session,” he said. “A free, equipment-free format can add tremendous value even if the underlying evidence is still preliminary.”Experts say those with injuries or balance issues should check with a doctor or physical therapist before trying the routine.The study also reflects a personal mission for one of its authors.Atomi, a physical therapist, worked alongside his mother, co-author Yoriko Atomi, PhD, whom he previously treated for knee and back issues. She told Fox News Digital that the collaboration reflects her broader focus on “body-mind integrative science.”TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZEven in her 80s, she continues to study how movement, nutrition and overall health intersect.”I am committed to creating a world where people everywhere can live beautiful, upright lives — both physically and mentally,” she said.

A waterfront estate featured in the 1983 film “Scarface” has hit the market in Florida with a $237 million asking price.The 2.38-acre property in Key Biscayne, located at 485 W. Matheson Drive, was used as the fictional home of drug lord Frank Lopez in the iconic crime film starring Al Pacino. The estate was once part of the compound used as President Richard Nixon’s “Winter White House.”The home spans roughly 13,000 square feet, with five bedrooms, a gym that can be converted into a sixth bedroom and more than seven bathrooms. The property includes 862 feet of direct Biscayne Bay frontage, with unobstructed views of the Miami skyline.CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTEROriginally built in the early 1980s, the residence still features elements recognizable to fans of the film, including its glass elevator. The estate also includes a private marina with space for large yachts and a former presidential helipad.The listing comes as “Scarface” continues to hold its place as one of the most recognizable crime films in Hollywood history, largely driven by Al Pacino’s portrayal of Tony Montana.Pacino, who starred as the Cuban immigrant turned drug kingpin, previously spoke about what drew him to the project and the character.”I had heard about Scarface for a long time,” Pacino said in a 2003 interview. “I was one day walking along Sunset Boulevard … and it was playing … and we went in and it was you know an astounding movie astounding and the performance of Paul Muni was was astounding and inspiring.”HOLLYWOOD STAR JEAN HARLOW’S ICONIC LA ESTATE, DUBBED THE ‘WHITEST HOUSE IN THE WORLD,’ LISTED FOR $16.8MHe added that the original film left a lasting impression on him and ultimately led him to pursue the role.”I thought after that that I just wanted to … I wanted to imitate him. I wanted to do something inspired by that performance,” Pacino said.Pacino described Tony Montana as a character shaped by multiple influences rather than a traditional gangster archetype.”I felt that this Scarface was a piece of so many different kinds of gangsters we’ve seen,” he said. “He was representative of a collective person … he seemed almost like a renegade in all of this.”MONTANA RANCH TIED TO ‘YELLOWSTONE’ UNIVERSE HITS MARKET FOR $16.3MThe actor also noted that the character’s unpredictability was central to his appeal.”He was out of control which was an attractive thing in his character to play,” Pacino said.Despite its initial mixed reception, “Scarface” went on to become a cultural phenomenon, with Pacino’s performance as Tony Montana widely regarded as one of the most iconic roles in film history.The film’s influence has endured for decades, with its characters, dialogue and imagery continuing to resonate with audiences and shape pop culture.LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSThe Key Biscayne property’s role in the film adds to its significance, as it served as the setting for pivotal scenes and remains one of the most recognizable locations tied to the movie.In addition to its cinematic legacy, the estate carries historical weight. The property was once part of President Richard Nixon’s winter retreat, where a helipad was used for official visits.’WONDER WOMAN’ STAR GAL GADOT PUTS MALIBU BEACH HOUSE ON THE MARKET FOR $8.75MThe current listing is represented by Jill Eber and Judy Zeder of The Jills Zeder Group at Coldwell Banker Realty.With its ties to both Hollywood and presidential history, the property stands as one of the most notable listings currently on the market.

Trump Says Medicare Will Soon Cover Weight-Loss Drugs

Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times,

President Donald Trump announced on May 1 that Medicare patients will soon be able to obtain coverage for weight-loss drugs for $50 per month.

Speaking at an event in Florida, Trump said the coverage for the weight-loss and diabetes medications will begin in July, referencing drugs that contain semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist.

“Today, I’m thrilled to announce that starting on July 1, we will also provide Medicare patients with the coverage for weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, Zepbound, Wegovy. Will be available for $50 a month,” he said.

In December, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a voluntary model known as Better Approaches to Lifestyle and Nutrition for Comprehensive Health to expand access to GLP-1 medications for weight management and metabolic health, allowing Medicare Part D plans and state Medicaid agencies to cover the drugs while negotiating lower prices.

The model features CMS negotiating directly with manufacturers for reduced net prices, out-of-pocket caps, standardized coverage criteria, and lifestyle support programs.

Tyler Durden
Sat, 05/02/2026 – 12:50

Federal taxpayers helped build a $2.2 billion solar plant — now electricity customers are on the hook to keep it running.The Ivanpah Solar Power Plant, a sprawling facility near the California-Nevada border built with billions in federal support during the Obama-era economic stimulus program, is stuck in a costly dilemma.Both the Trump and Biden administrations — along with the utility company that buys its power — have sought to shut it down, saying it underperforms, produces expensive electricity and has been overtaken by cheaper energy sources. But California regulators have refused to allow it to close, warning that closing the plant could strain the power grid.The result is a costly standoff rooted in years of government decisions: shutting it down could leave taxpayers responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars tied to a $1.6 billion federal loan, while keeping it open means higher electricity costs for consumers.”This project makes no economic sense to keep afloat, and the market itself has shown that,” Daniel Turner, founder of the energy advocacy group Power The Future, told Fox News Digital.”This is a boondoggle, like most of California’s large projects are a boondoggle,” he said, arguing it is being kept alive for political reasons, with costs ultimately passed on to customers.”At some point, you have to stop throwing good money after bad,” he added.EARTH DAY: THREE BIG SIGNS THE CLIMATE MOVEMENT IS RUNNING OUT OF GASRising out of the Mojave Desert, the more than 4,000-acre facility still looks like the future. It has roughly 350,000 mirrors — mounted on more than 170,000 heliostats — which stretch for miles and reflect blinding sunlight into three towering structures that glow eerily white against the barren terrain. But more than a decade after it opened, the technology behind it has been overtaken by cheaper, more efficient solar alternatives — turning what was once a symbol of clean energy progress into a costly problem. The project has also faced scrutiny over its environmental impact, with thousands of birds killed after flying through the plant’s concentrated solar beams — along with the destruction of large areas of desert land and displacement of desert tortoises.The costly tradeoffRoughly $730 million to $780 million of the $1.6 billion federally backed loan tied to the project remains outstanding, according to federal data. In addition, the U.S. Department of the Treasury provided a $539 million grant to help build the facility, covering about 30% of construction costs.At the same time, some analysts estimate the plant’s electricity could cost customers roughly $100 million more per year than power from newer solar alternatives.That leaves policymakers facing a stark choice: shut it down and risk sticking taxpayers with hundreds of millions in losses tied to the loan, or keep it running and continue passing higher costs on to electricity customers.Critics argue that without government backing and long-term contracts, the plant would likely struggle to remain economically viable.Even the federal government and the utility paying for the power have tried to walk away.Officials under both the Trump and Biden administrations, along with Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) — which buys electricity from the plant — have supported shutting it down. PG&E has described the contracts as part of an effort to reduce “uneconomic resources” in its energy portfolio, according to regulatory filings.California regulators, however, have refused.The California Public Utilities Commission rejected efforts to terminate the plant’s contracts, citing concerns about grid reliability as electricity demand rises, including increased demand from data centers.In its decision, regulators warned that shutting down Ivanpah could strand more than $300 million in ratepayer-funded transmission and infrastructure tied to the project, while also creating potential risks for grid reliability — particularly as uncertainty grows around how quickly new energy projects can be built.PG&E, meanwhile, has argued that terminating the contracts would save customers money compared with continuing to purchase electricity from the facility.The dispute highlights a broader challenge facing the energy sector — how to balance reliability, cost and past investments as demand rises and technology evolves.Outdated technology, shifting marketStanding near the site, the scale of the project is unmistakable.The plant uses a technology known as concentrated solar power, in which computer-controlled mirrors reflect sunlight onto boilers atop nearly 460-foot towers, creating visible beams of concentrated light and causing the structures to glow brightly. The heat is then used to produce steam, which drives turbines to generate electricity.When it opened in 2014, the technology was considered cutting-edge. However, rapid advances in photovoltaic solar panels and battery storage have since made cheaper, more flexible alternatives widely available.The project was fast-tracked during the Obama-era stimulus push, prompting concerns about the speed of its environmental review. It was part of a broader federal effort to boost the economy following the 2008 financial crisis and expand renewable energy.It represented a significant scale-up of relatively new technology, expanding from smaller pilot projects to a nearly 400-megawatt facility — a leap that introduced uncertainties about long-term performance.But the industry moved on faster than expected.Cheaper and more efficient photovoltaic solar panels, often paired with battery storage, quickly overtook the concentrated solar technology used at Ivanpah — leaving the plant at a competitive disadvantage.”The technology used at Ivanpah is no longer really competitive with a new solar farm that uses conventional solar panels,” Severin Borenstein, an energy economist at the University of California, Berkeley, told Fox News Digital.Borenstein said the project reflects the risks of investing in emerging energy technologies at scale.”When this plant was planned, solar thermal looked like a promising approach,” he said. “But photovoltaic costs fell much faster than anyone anticipated, and that changed the economics entirely.”Borenstein explained the project was part of a broader wave of experimentation in early clean energy development, noting that while some technologies — including solar panels, batteries and wind power — became dramatically cheaper over time, Ivanpah “fell into the latter category,” with costs failing to drop as expected.”That doesn’t mean it was a bad idea to build it originally,” he said.Borenstein added that once those shifts occur, large infrastructure projects can be difficult to unwind.”These are long-lived assets with long-term contracts,” he said. “Even if they no longer make economic sense, you can’t easily just walk away.”Mark Jacobson, a Stanford University energy systems expert, contended the technology itself is not inherently flawed but lacks key features used in newer systems.”There’s no role for a concentrated solar plant without storage,” Jacobson told Fox News Digital, noting that modern systems typically store energy for use at night — something Ivanpah cannot do.Jacobson added that while the plant may no longer be competitive with new projects, that does not necessarily mean it should be shut down.”It’s already built,” he said. “So the question is whether it’s cheaper to keep it running than to replace it.”In addition to the $1.6 billion federal loan guarantee, the project received a roughly $539 million Treasury grant covering about 30% of construction costs, along with tax credits, accelerated depreciation and other federal incentives.California’s renewable energy mandates also required utilities to purchase power under long-term contracts, helping ensure demand even as newer technologies emerged.Ivanpah is not the first federally backed clean energy project to face scrutiny. Solar company Solyndra collapsed in 2011 after receiving $535 million in federal loan guarantees.The Ivanpah project drew backing from major private investors, including NRG Energy and Google, which invested hundreds of millions of dollars in its development.But the project’s financing structure spreads risk unevenly. Federal loan guarantees, taxpayer-funded grants and long-term power contracts help stabilize returns for investors, while leaving taxpayers and electricity customers exposed to potential losses and higher costs.Operational challenges have also been documented. A 2025 audit by California regulators identified recurring forced outages and equipment issues that could affect reliability.NRG Energy, which operates the facility, told Fox News Digital it remains committed to running the plant under existing agreements and providing renewable energy to California.Although Ivanpah has a nameplate capacity of nearly 400 megawatts, solar plants typically operate below full capacity because they only generate electricity when the sun is shining. Even so, the facility has underperformed.In 2023, it operated at roughly a 17% capacity factor, according to data from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory — well below the 25% to 30% levels originally expected.Real-world impactWhile the facility spans thousands of acres in a remote stretch of desert, it feeds electricity into the broader grid rather than a specific community and has drawn relatively limited public attention despite its scale and cost. The town of Baker, for example, is the nearest town to the facility on the California side, but it is about 50 miles away from the plant.For some residents and business owners in the region, however, rising electricity prices remain a growing concern.”During the summer it can be anywhere from $10,000 to $12,000 … in the winter anywhere from $6,000 to $8,000,” said Lazarus Dabour, owner of the Mad Greek restaurant in Baker.”It still restricts your bottom line when your overhead from more electricity goes up. It’s a big factor,” he said.”Our electricity is too high here in Baker,” said Eddie Bravo, a local store worker who said his bills can reach between $650 and $750 in the summer.He said he notices the plant when he travels to Las Vegas, but “[doesn’t] know much about it.”Despite the scale of the project, many people passing through the area said they were largely unaware of the facility or the controversy surrounding it.Some expressed frustration with rising energy costs, while others took a more neutral view.”It seems like it’s doing its job … it’s definitely working,” said Gregory Simons, a truck driver from Rancho Cucamonga who was stopped at a gas station near the Nevada state line.Just across the road, newer solar facilities sit quietly on the desert floor, using photovoltaic panels to generate electricity more simply and at lower cost — highlighting how quickly the industry has shifted away from Ivanpah’s technology.More than a decade after it opened, the plant now stands as a symbol of how quickly energy technology can evolve — and the cost of getting it wrong when a project becomes too expensive to shut down and too costly to justify keeping it running.

Evelio Menjivar-Ayala speaking during a recent Festival of Faiths conference.
Pope Leo has appointed a former illegal alien to lead the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston in West Virginia.
Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, 55, is a former illegal alien who entered the United States as a teenager after being smuggled into the country.
He later obtained legal status and became a U.S. citizen in 2006.
He had been serving as an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Washington and will replace retiring Bishop Mark Brennan.
Menjivar-Ayala has publicly criticized the Trump administration’s policy of mass deportations and is well known for his progressive posturing.
In a recent column, he wrote: “To those of you who are silent or think this does not involve you… I ask you: Do you not see the suffering of your neighbors?”
The Vatican announced the appointment alongside other promotions, including Rev. Robert Boxie III, who was named an auxiliary bishop in Washington.
Boxie has strongly defended Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs, which have become defacto illegal under the trump administration.
“It’s really frustrating… The attacks on ‘DEI’ — I don’t even know what that means anymore,” Boxie said. “Diversity is a good thing. Diversity is of God.”
Menjivar-Ayala previously worked manual labor jobs in the U.S. before entering the priesthood. His immigration status was later resolved with assistance from church officials.
The move places Menjivar-Ayala in charge of a diocese located in one of the most conservative states in the country.
The appointment also places Pope Leo further at odds with President Trump, who recently criticized his progressive pandering.
Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy. He talks about “fear” of the Trump Administration, but doesn’t mention the FEAR that the Catholic Church, and all other Christian Organizations, had during COVID when they were arresting priests, ministers, and everybody else, for holding Church Services, even when going outside, and being ten and even twenty feet apart.
I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA. He gets it, and Leo doesn’t!
I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a Country that was sending massive amounts of Drugs into the United States and, even worse, emptying their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and killers, into our Country.
Leo later responded by suggesting that Trump does not understand the deeper meaning behind the gospel. 

Pope Leo just FIRED BACK at President Trump:
“To put my message on the same plane as what the President has attempted to do here, I think is not understanding what the message of the Gospel is.”
Video: Associated Press https://t.co/n5NfboQFhG pic.twitter.com/mObl8jD77C
— Morse Report (@MorseReport) April 13, 2026

The post Pope Leo Appoints Former Illegal Alien and Rabid Progressive as Bishop Deep Red West Virginia appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Image Wiki Commons
Sex and drugs, but no gas or meat.
Amsterdam is known to be an ultra-liberal city, with legalized prostitution, Coffee shops selling marijuana and hashish, while hallucinogenic truffles can be found in ‘smart shops’.
But in the public spaces of the climate change-obsessed ‘Venice of the North’, you won’t find advertisements for ‘dangerous’ gas cars or meat products.

Amsterdam is about to become the latest big city to ban adverts for fossil fuels in order to fight climate change.
But are bans a good idea, and do they make any difference?
Find out on The Climate Question – watch on YouTube https://t.co/pwZ2o237ap pic.twitter.com/UAfRVbzafx
— BBC World Service (@bbcworldservice) April 30, 2026

The New York Times reported:
“On May 1, Amsterdam became the first capital city in the world to ban ads for fossil fuel products and meat. It is part of the city’s efforts to discourage consumption of goods linked with high carbon emissions.
Ads for airlines, cruises, and faraway destinations are no longer allowed, because they implicitly promote the burning of fossil fuels. Ads for beef, chicken, pork and fish are also banned, because of the environmental harms caused by animal agriculture.”

#FOCUS – Cities around the world are clearing their billboards of flight ads, cruise ships and petrol cars.
This in the name of the fight against global warming. Amsterdam is latest city to join the movement, becoming the first capital in the world to approve legal ban on… pic.twitter.com/9n7GJsVjfy
— FRANCE 24 English (@France24_en) April 28, 2026

“Amsterdam’s law applies to city-owned properties and public spaces, such as buses and bus shelters, benches, trams, trains and metro stations, and billboards. Advertising in privately owned stores and in media such as newspapers, radio and online formats is exempt.”
Laws banning fossil fuel ads began in the Hague, and when the Dutch travel trade association and several travel agencies sued, the judge said that ‘the health of its citizens and the climate was more important than commercial interests’.
“Amsterdam passed a motion to ban ads for fossil fuel and high emissions travel in 2020, but it wasn’t legally binding and carried no penalties. The new law gives the city enforcement teeth, and includes the meat advertising ban. This year will largely be considered a grace period, but fines can still be issued to scofflaws.”

Cocaine soonnlegal in Amsterdam?
Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema has called for the regulation of the sale and use of cocaine to undermine the economics of criminal enterprises that she said are racking up “billions” in profit.
“Let us conclude that hundreds of years of… pic.twitter.com/YlR4wfnAq9
— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) January 28, 2024

In the meantime, Amsterdam’s mayor Femke Halsema is generating controversy across Europe for suggesting that regulating the cocaine market could help the fight against organized crime.
We Rave You reported:
“Speaking at a European congress on organized crime, attended by ministers and policymakers from across the continent, Halsema argued that current drug enforcement strategies have failed to stop the flow of cocaine into Europe. According to the mayor, decades of seizures and law enforcement efforts have not significantly disrupted the illegal trade.
“’Let us face the facts: the war on drugs isn’t working’, Halsema said during the event. ‘Seizing drugs is not working. And cocaine regulation isn’t in the picture either. I hope we can agree that we need to formulate an alternative strategy’.”
Read more:
Copenhagen Mayor Begs Tourists Not To Buy Pot at Christiania Freetown, After Deadly Shooting – The Problem? Half a Million of Them Visit Every Year for Exactly That

The post SEX, DRUGS AND CLIMATE CHANGE: Amsterdam Prohibits Ads for Fossil Fuel Products and Meat, While Prostitution and Weed Are Legal, and the Mayor Champions the Legalization of Cocaine appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Image: Video screenshot via @ForecasterEnten/X
CNN’s Senior Data Reporter, Harry Enten, revealed new polling numbers that show that President Donald Trump and the Republican Party are maintaining the increased support among black voters seen in the 2024 election.
Harry Enten: Yeah, I think what we’re seeing right now in the numbers is President Trump and the Republican Party are chipping away at the long-term advantage that Democrats have had with Black voters, with African Americans. You can see it right here.
Look, Trump’s approval among African Americans at this point in term one, he was at 12%. You know, he’s been losing ground with a lot of groups. He’s gaining, he’s gaining ground with African Americans. He’s up to 16% at this point.
And you say this isn’t that big of a shift. But I will tell you, Republicans absolutely love this shift that’s going on because Democrats have had such a long-term advantage.
The fact that he’s actually gaining ground versus where he was in term number one, this has major implications for elections down the line because Democrats, especially in a lot of these tight races— you talk about places like Georgia, right down in the South— you see this type of movement for Trump actually gaining ground, this could have major ramifications and could help put Republicans over the top in a number of southern places in the midterm elections.
Kate Bolduan: But do you see this as part of a bigger trend?
Harry Enten: I see this as absolutely part of a bigger trend. Donald Trump’s Republican Party is absolutely gaining ground, not just him gaining in terms of his approval rating, but look at the party ID margin, Kate, because this to me was absolutely stunning.
Look at this…. party ID margin among African Americans at this point in Trump term number one. Democrats had a 63-point advantage. That is absolutely fallen. Look at where it is now, a double-digit shift away.
Democrats, of course, still have the advantage, but it’s a 12-point shift to the Republican Party.
And I look back through Gallup’s records, they sent me their records, and this in fact lead that Democrats have is actually smaller than any lead from 2006 to 2021. So Democrats are leading, but again, we’re talking about chipping away.Republicans are chipping away at this long-term advantage that Democrats have had among African Americans.
We see it in terms of Trump’s approval rating, and we even see it to a wider degree among the party ID margin, where all of a sudden there are a number of African Americans who are walking away from the Democratic Party and a number of them who are walking into the Republican tent.
Kate Bolduan: That is very interesting. Looking at that past Gallup information.
Harry Enten: Yeah.
Kate Bolduan: What does this mean for the race for control of Congress?
Harry Enten: Okay, so you see this right here, you see this 51-point advantage that Democrats have, significantly less than you see that 63-point advantage. And what we will note was back in 2024, right, Donald Trump put in a historically strong performance among African Americans.
Democrats performed the worst in a generation.
Have they gained any of that coalition back from where they fell down to in 2024? But take a look here. Okay, choice for election among African Americans. Kamala Harris was leading amongst that group in the pre-election polling by 63 points.
Are Democrats gaining back any of that ground?
Uh-uh. It’s a 62-point advantage now. Republicans are holding on to the gains that they made among African Americans in 2024. Republicans are gaining among African Americans. They are chipping away at that long-term advantage.
The Donald Trump-led Republican Party is making gains among African Americans that we simply put have not seen the Republican Party make in a generation.
Watch:

Trump’s GOP is holding on to the generational gains they made with Black voters in the 2024 election.
The GOP has gained 12 pts on the Dems on party id with African Americans vs. Trump term 1 at this point.
Trump’s approval with Black voters is higher than it was in term 1. pic.twitter.com/EKiEv561jk
— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) April 30, 2026

The post New Poll: Trump’s GOP ‘Holding Generational Gains with Black Voters’ in 2024 Election (Video) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

A cluster of undersea cables goes dark in a contested region. Financial transactions slow. Communications degrade. Military coordination becomes strained. No declaration of hostilities — because none is necessary. The adversary has achieved strategic effect without a single surface engagement, without triggering an escalation ladder, without giving anyone a clean target to shoot back at.
That is not a vulnerability story. It is a control story. And the vocabulary maritime strategy currently uses cannot tell it.
Corbett’s Logic — And Where It Breaks
Julian Corbett’s concept of sea control remains the organizing principle of Western naval thinking. The logic is durable: secure your maritime communications, deny them to the adversary, and the economic and military advantages follow. Not absolute dominance — Corbett was too careful for that — but conditional, localized control exercised through fleets, patrols, and chokepoint dominance.
Equally important, and often underappreciated, is what Corbett said about the space between control and its absence. Disputed command — the condition where neither side has achieved control and both are actively contesting it — was central to his framework. Most maritime competition, he argued, occurs in that contested middle ground rather than at the clean poles of dominance or defeat. That insight has aged better than almost anything else in Some Principles of Maritime Strategy.
Corbett’s framework worked because the communications that mattered ran across the sea. That wasn’t a theoretical premise — it was an empirical condition of his era. Surface shipping carried trade, armies, and the material sinews of industrial warfare. What mattered was visible, mobile, and contestable by conventional means. His framework described that reality accurately, and doctrine built on it performed accordingly.
Submarine warfare forced the first major extension of Corbett’s logic below the surface. The communications his framework was designed to protect could now be threatened and defended in three dimensions, not two. Naval doctrine absorbed that shift — imperfectly and slowly, but it absorbed it.
Today, a second extension is overdue. And this one runs deeper.
Fiber-optic cables carry the overwhelming majority of global data — financial transactions, military communications, intelligence coordination, civilian internet traffic. Energy pipelines and offshore infrastructure anchor the resource flows that underwrite modern economies. Sensor networks are already being positioned along contested seabed terrain. The communications that actually sustain the global system are now fixed, hidden, and almost entirely beneath the surface.
That changes what control means. And the current strategic vocabulary hasn’t kept up.
The Seabed as Strategic Terrain
What makes seabed infrastructure dangerous as a strategic vulnerability is precisely the combination of characteristics that makes it hard to defend. These systems are concentrated enough to matter, fragile enough to damage with relatively modest means, and difficult enough to monitor continuously that disruption can precede detection by days or weeks.
Sea control was about protecting movement — convoys crossing an ocean, fleets contesting a strait, commerce flowing through a chokepoint. Seabed control is something different: securing fixed nodes of connectivity against threats that don’t require the adversary to show up in any recognizable military form.
Seabed control is the ability to secure critical undersea infrastructure and deny an adversary the ability to disrupt it at acceptable cost. Framed that way, it is less a departure from Corbett than his framework’s logical extension into terrain he couldn’t have anticipated — the same communications logic, applied to infrastructure that is stationary, invisible, and contested by entirely different means. What has changed is not the theory. It is the empirical condition the theory must now describe.
Why This Is Harder Than It Looks
Sea control was always partial — Corbett was explicit about that — but it was at least legible. You could patrol a sea lane, escort a convoy, see the threat and contest it. Disputed command, in Corbett’s sense, was still a fight that took place in observable space.
Seabed control offers none of that. Persistent awareness of thousands of miles of undersea infrastructure is technically demanding and still beyond current capabilities. Cable damage can be made to look like a dragging anchor or a seismic event — attribution is slow, contested, and often inconclusive long after the strategic effect has been delivered. There is no meaningful way to convoy a cable. The geometry of the problem doesn’t support the solutions that worked on the surface.
What Corbett called disputed command now extends to terrain where the dispute itself may be invisible. That is not an incremental complication. It changes the nature of the contest.
This is not a gap in current capability. It is a gap in current thinking — and capability gaps follow from conceptual ones.
Force Design for a Different Problem
Traditional fleets — carriers, surface combatants, even most submarine force structure — are not optimized for this mission. They were built for a different strategic layer. The mismatch is real, and navies that don’t reckon with it will find their investment portfolios misaligned with the threats that actually matter.
What seabed control requires is a different toolkit. Autonomous underwater vehicles capable of persistent inspection and monitoring across vast distances. Seabed sensor networks that provide continuous awareness rather than episodic snapshots. Specialized intervention platforms that can investigate and respond to subsurface activity. And cable ships — currently treated as commercial assets with a niche military role — reconceived as strategic assets whose availability and protection matter as much as any surface combatant.
Resilience is not a secondary consideration or a hedge against failure. It is a core element of control. The ability to restore connectivity quickly may matter as much as the ability to defend it in the first place — because the adversary’s strategy is not necessarily to sever infrastructure permanently, but to demonstrate that it can be severed at will.
Deterrence in the Dark
Traditional deterrence assumes clarity — identifiable actors, legible thresholds, credible punishment or effective denial. Hybrid threats in the seabed domain designed to deny all three simultaneously. The action is deniable, the actor uncertain, and the threshold for response undefined because disruption sits below the level of open conflict almost by design.
This is not simply deterrence under ambiguity. It is deterrence in environments where attribution will never be decisive — proof sufficient to justify a response arrives, if it arrives at all, well after the strategic damage is done. That is a different problem from anything classical deterrence theory was built to solve and treating it as a variant of gray-zone competition misses how deep that difference runs.
What it requires is a deterrence model calibrated around presence, rapid attribution capability, and proportional response options that don’t force a binary choice between military escalation and inaction. Allied navies will also need to coordinate seabed infrastructure protection in ways current alliance frameworks weren’t designed to accommodate — that conversation is overdue. The goal is not punishment. It is making the seabed inhospitable for covert operations — shaping behavior before the cable goes dark, not after.
What Corbett Still Gets Right — And What He Doesn’t
Corbett’s core insight survives intact: control is about securing communications, it is always contested and never absolute, and the space of disputed command is where most of the real strategic work happens. All of that remains true.
What has changed is the terrain on which those principles now operate. The communications that matter most are no longer moving across a surface that can be patrolled. They run through fixed infrastructure on the ocean floor, threatened by means that leave no visible signature, in a condition of permanent disputed command that neither side fully acknowledges.
The consequences of failing to adapt are not abstract. Financial systems freeze, command networks fragment, and alliances find their coordination quietly severed — all without a shot fired in any jurisdiction that triggers a conventional response. Current force structures, investment priorities, and alliance frameworks are not built for that fight. That is a choice, and it is one that becomes harder to reverse the longer it goes unmade.

Andrew Latham, Ph.D., a tenured professor at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He is also a Senior Washington Fellow with the Institute for Peace and Diplomacy in Ottawa and a non-resident fellow with Defense Priorities, a think tank in Washington, D.C.
This article was originally published by RealClearDefense and made available via RealClearWire.