News From Around the Web
#1 Amazon Said USPS Backed Out at the ‘Eleventh Hour’ in Contract Negotiations to Increase Package Volume - Katherine Li for Insider, Bobby J Davidson, Tom Petit/LifesAGamble, Joe Wiggins, Fox 7 Austin, Jim, and PostCom on X
Amazon said that USPS backed out at the "eleventh hour" in contract negotiations in December. Amazon said it had aimed to expand the volume of packages it routes through USPS. USPS is facing a financial cliff and could run out of cash within a year. The way millions of Amazon packages move across the country could shift dramatically....#2 Sen. Kennedy Just Moved to Pass the Save America Act Using a Brilliant Legislative Trick That Only Requires 51 Votes - Randy DeSoto for The Western Journal, Maureen Jo Begley, John John Jr, Just Jen ℞/Mike Lee/Always Remember, Brandon Straka #WalkAway, and John F Kennedy Jr on X
Sen. John Kennedy argued Wednesday that Republicans should seek to pass the SAVE America Act using budget reconciliation, so only a majority vote would be required. Senate Majority Leader John Thune currently has the measure being considered next week as a straight change in policy matter, meaning it would require 60 votes to overcome a Democrat filibuster. The bill, which President Donald Trump supports, would require Americans to show proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and to present photo ID when voting. It would also place limits on mail-in voting, but would still allow it for those who are disabled, serving in the military, or traveling out of their home state...
#3 Israel and Iran Attack Gas Facilities in a Major Escalation That Rattles Markets - NPR, The White House (community note), Fox & Friends, The Associated Press, World News Tonight, and Daily Caller on X
Iran attacked the world's biggest liquefied natural gas complex in Qatar, targeted a gas field and facility in the United Arab Emirates, fired missiles and launched drones on a Saudi Arabian oil refinery and on two Kuwaiti gas units on Thursday, following Israel's bombing of Iran's South Pars gas field a day earlier. The attacks on the gas facilities in the Gulf marked a major escalation as the war with Iran approached its third week, with Iran engaging in direct assault on its Gulf neighbors Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait...#4 Joe Kent Under FBI Investigation for Alleged Leaks - Marc Caputo for Axios, Gina Cavis, Huddytex, 𝕸𝖊𝖉𝖎𝖆 𝟜𝟘𝟜, Melanie, The CSPAN Review, and Lara on X
Former counterterrorism official Joe Kent has been under FBI investigation for months on suspicion he leaked classified information, three sources familiar with the case tell Axios. Kent propelled himself into national headlines Tuesday when he resigned his post and blamed Israel for tricking President Trump into launching the Iran war, even though it posed "no imminent threat" to the U.S. Immediately after his resignation, administration officials said he had been "a known leaker" and had been cut out of briefings with the president...
#5 Trump Admin Considering Deploying Troops to Iranian Shores Along Strait of Hormuz, Kharg Island: Report - Victor Nava for New York Post, The Beacon, Hold My Beer News, Middle East Conflict Tracker, Geopolitia, and Nora Haniff/Rick Sanchez on X
President Trump is reportedly weighing the deployment of thousands of additional US troops to the Middle East that could potentially be used on the ground in Iran. The Trump administration has discussed using ground forces on Iranian shores to secure the Strait of Hormuz and Kharg Island, Reuters reported on Wednesday. The possibility of using US troops to secure Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium has also been discussed, the outlet said. However, the deployment of ground forces anywhere in Iran is not believed to be imminent, sources cautioned...
#6 Drones Spotted Over Base Where Rubio, Hegseth Live, Raising Security Concerns - THE JERUSALEM POST, Molly Ploofkins, patdevereaux, Mediaite, VPol, and My moms Caregiver on X
Unidentified drones were detected above the Washington Army base where Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reside, according to a Thursday report from The Washington Post, citing three sources familiar with the situation. A senior administration official told the Post that the military is increasingly monitoring potential threats, as alert levels rise in the US amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. Over the past 10 days, multiple drones were spotted flying over Fort McNair in a single night, though their origin remains unknown...
#7 Intel Chief Gabbard Declines to Say if Iran Posed an ‘Imminent Threat’ to U.S. - Dan De Luce for NBC, Furkan Gözükara, Michael Smith, Ahab, and Dr. Eli David/zerohedge/Luis Zanger/Karma Zapati on X
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declined to say if Iran’s nuclear program presented an “imminent threat,” deflecting questions from lawmakers about whether U.S. intelligence backed up White House statements on the rationale for starting the war. Gabbard’s congressional testimony Wednesday at an annual hearing on worldwide threats came a day after a top deputy, Joe Kent, resigned in protest over the Iran war, saying that the Tehran regime posed no imminent threat and the joint U.S.-Israeli air campaign was unnecessary...#8 ‘I Will Follow the Law,’ Bondi Says After Democrats Storm Out of Epstein Files Briefing - John Parkinson and Lauren Peller for ABC News, Graeme/CSPAN, AAGHarmeetDhillon/Rep. Melanie Stansbury, The Lowell Sun, Eric Daugherty/Jet Screamer, and Fox News/AfriHub/HardyOnTheBeach on X
House Oversight Committee Democrats said Wednesday that Attorney General Pam Bondi refused to commit to complying with a subpoena that compels her to testify at a closed-door deposition over the Jeffrey Epstein files on April 14. Frustrations boiled over Wednesday evening as Democrats stormed out in protest of a closed-door briefing on the files -- characterizing it as a "fake hearing." Republicans chided Democrats for a "premeditated" stunt. Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee, told reporters, "She refused on multiple occasions to commit to following the subpoena that Chairman [James] Comer actually just put out. I asked her repeatedly that question. Other members asked her that question, and she would not commit to it. It is outrageous. It's infuriating, and it's continuous -- this White House cover-up of the Epstein files."
#9 Immigration Judge Orders Deportation of NYC Council Employee After ICE Arrest; City Leaders Push Back - Bonny Chu for Fox News, “The Old-Man”, Dapper Detective/
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (community note), Satguy 141, 𝓒𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓪, and CorgiFairie on X
An immigration judge has ordered the deportation of a former New York City Council employee federal officials said in January was an undocumented immigrant with a prior assault arrest. City Council Speaker Julie Menin announced the deportation ruling on Wednesday, condemning it as a "miscarriage of justice and wholly deplorable" and pledging to fight back by filing an appeal. Two months ago, Rafael Andres Rubio Bohorquez, 53, was detained during an immigration appointment and was identified by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a Venezuelan "criminal illegal alien" who overstayed his visa...
#10 One ‘Freaking Snake’ and No Apologies: How the Mullin Hearing Went off the Rails - Lisa Mascaro for AP, GeneBryant2, @CTGJR, The Hill, STAY JIT, Blue Lives Matter, Area Woman, and American Eagle Digital Brigade on X
The chairman opened the hearing with a provocative dare: Say it to my face. Sen. Rand Paul, the Republican from Kentucky, has made clear he has little regard for President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security, fellow Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin. He says he’ll vote against him. Their differences go way back. Mullin has called him a “freaking snake,” siding with Paul’s neighbor, who left the senator with multiple broken ribs after a surprise attack, the neighbor having tackled the senator years ago as he was doing yardwork outside his home. Paul calls Mullin a liar with anger management problems who lacks the temperament to lead the troubled Homeland Security Department that is at the forefront of Trump’s mass deportation agenda. “Tell it to the world why you believe I deserved to be assaulted,” Paul said on Wednesday as he gaveled the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to order...
