News From Around the Web
#1 Nineteen Companies. Twenty-One Investigations. Zero Admissions of Wrongdoing. - Tracy Beanz and Michelle Edwards for The Highwire, Rockport, Mad in America, and Zoe Keller on X
For those who still need proof that the pharmaceutical industry views human health as a commodity and patients as revenue streams, a new review published in the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics just handed it to you—documented, sourced, and damning. The study abstract declared: “Reported bribes amounted to about US $12.6 million, with sanctions exceeding US $1.1 billion. Government officials, regulatory authorities, and healthcare providers were bribed through cash, gifts, luxury travel, and fraudulent research to gain market access, increase sales, or influence prescribing. These findings underscore the systemic nature of bribery in the pharmaceutical sector and call for stronger oversight and accountability to protect public trust and equitable medicine access.”#2 Former Fort Bragg Employee Charged With Leaking Classified Military Information to Journalist - Stephen Sorace and Jasmine Baehr for Fox News, FBI Director Kash Patel, Nick Sortor, 𝔉𝒏 Karoline Leavitt, Open Source Intel, and Benny Johnson on X
A former Fort Bragg employee with top-secret clearance is accused of leaking classified military tactics to a journalist, then admitting to her mother that she could be arrested for exposing sensitive operations, according to a federal complaint. Courtney P. Williams, 40, an Army veteran assigned to a Special Military Unit (SMU) at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, was arrested by the FBI on Tuesday and charged with unlawfully transmitting national defense information, including classified tactics used in covert missions, to an investigative reporter over a period spanning several years, federal prosecutors allege. According to the complaint, Williams held a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) clearance and had direct access to highly sensitive operational details, including tactics, techniques, and procedures — commonly known as TTPs — used by elite military units...
#3 Democratic Presidential Prospects Flock to New York - Matt Brown and Steve Peoples for Associated Press, Policy Wire, Steve Williams, Patrick Riccards, Axios Comms, and Flow Predice on X
The Democratic Party's most ambitious politicians are courting African American activists in New York this week as the party's unofficial 2028 presidential nomination contest takes shape at an annual conference led by Rev. Al Sharpton. Up first was Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who warned that “everyone is less safe” because of President Donald Trump's leadership and blamed him for a nationwide surge in antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, and bigotry. “There’s more chaos, there’s more cruelty in our world,” Shapiro said. “Even if we disagree on health care policy or tax policy or whatever, we should at least, at a baseline, have an honorable president of the United States. We do not have that right now."
#4 Shipping in Strait of Hormuz Remains Stalled After Israel’s Lebanon Strikes - CNN, Truth_Signal, WION, ConservativeLibrarian, The Independent, and Newscast Pratyaksha on X
Condemnation of Israel’s largest strikes on Lebanon since the war started is mounting. Iran and Pakistan insist Lebanon is part of the ceasefire deal, but the US and Israel claim the agreement doesn’t cover Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz stopped following Israel’s attack on Lebanon on Wednesday, which Iran said was a ceasefire violation. President Donald Trump said US forces will remain “in place” until a full agreement is reached with Iran. Trump added that if a deal is not reached, “which is highly unlikely,” then the “Shootin’ Starts.” Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner will go to Islamabad for talks beginning Saturday...
#5 Dem Lawmaker Calls for TSA to Bring Back Shoes-off Airport Security Policy - Landon Mion and Fox News, The Old Carmudgeon, CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil, Tammy Duckworth/Benjamin Roussay, Velcro Fly, and Thomas Schmitt on X
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., is demanding that the Transportation Security Administration reintroduce its controversial policy requiring travelers to take off their shoes before going through airport security checkpoints. Duckworth called on the TSA to immediately reverse its move to end the "shoes-off" policy, calling former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's decision last summer to scrap the policy a "reckless act" that may put travelers at risk. "Secretary Noem’s decision to implement a shoes-on policy on July 8, 2025, likely without meaningful consultation with TSA, was a reckless act," Duckworth wrote in a letter to Acting TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill...
#6 Ousted AG Bondi Declines Epstein Deposition, but Lawmakers Say Subpoena Still Holds - Adam Pack for Fox News, The Beacon, The Saratogian, CBSColorado, George Leroy Tirebiter, and 𝙵𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚝 𝙿𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚜 𝚃𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢 on X
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi will not sit for a planned deposition before the House Oversight Committee as part of its probe into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the panel’s Republican majority said Wednesday. "The Department of Justice has stated Pam Bondi will not appear on April 14 for a deposition since she is no longer Attorney General and was subpoenaed in her capacity as Attorney General," a House Oversight Committee spokeswoman told Fox News Digital in a statement. "The Committee will contact Pam Bondi’s personal counsel to discuss next steps regarding scheduling her deposition." The committee has not withdrawn the subpoena, meaning Bondi could still be required to sit for a deposition...
#7 Mace Calls for Bondi to Testify in Epstein Files Probe or Be Held in Contempt - Rebecca Beitsch for The Hill, Chris Drone, VW Trabi, Restored Republic, Patrick Igo, and KRCG 13 on X
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) on Wednesday echoed Democratic calls to hold former Attorney General Pam Bondi in contempt if she failed to comply with a subpoena to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee about the Jeffrey Epstein files. The Justice Department told House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) Wednesday that Bondi would not appear for the scheduled April 14 deposition. Mace, who introduced the measure to subpoena Bondi, got the backing of four GOP colleagues and all the Democrats on the panel in a vote last month...
#8 Trump Administration Signals It Is Mulling NATO Withdrawal After Iran War - Al Jazeera, Bob Morgan/Department of State/L. P, Faytuks Network/Peter RockaFella, Academic Block, TheSawdustKid, and Off The Press on X
United States President Donald Trump has reportedly discussed withdrawing from NATO, the transatlantic alliance that has been a central pillar of Western security for decades. At a news briefing on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt framed the US and Israel’s war on Iran as a “test” that the alliance had failed. Despite Trump’s pressure, NATO allies had declined to contribute military forces to the war, outside of defensive maneuvers. Rex Heuermann pleaded guilty Wednesday to killing seven women between 1993 and 2011 and admitted he killed an eighth, in a series of murders that came to be known as the Gilgo Beach serial killings. Rex Heuermann, 62, was arrested in 2023 in the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello. He was later charged with the murders of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Sandra Costilla, Jessica Taylor, and Valerie Mack. Heuermann pleaded guilty Wednesday to killing all seven women. Heuermann also admitted guilt in the killing of an eighth victim, Karen Vergata...
Leavitt’s comments came shortly before Trump met with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the White House...
#9 Rex Heuermann Pleads Guilty to 7 Murders in Gilgo Beach Serial Killings - Jesse Zanger for CBS News, Building Design, Tesla's Catalysis..., Newser, Q95 FM, and Good Morning America on X
#10 Army Adds Charges Against Former Fort Hood Ob-Gyn to Include Crimes Against 73 Women - Rose L. Thayer, Boone Cutler, Parallel Polis in Exile, Delbert Earl Myers, and Debra Hale on X
The Army on Tuesday filed more charges against a former OB-GYN at Fort Hood, Texas, who is accused of secretly video recording his exams with patients, to include more than 70 women, according to the service prosecutors’ office. Maj. Blaine McGraw, 47, now faces 146 specifications of violating the Uniform Code of Military Justice. That includes 64 counts of sexual abuse and assault; one count of attempted sexual assault; 66 counts of indecent recording; 13 counts of conduct unbecoming; one for extramarital sexual misconduct; and one for willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer, according to the Office of Special Trial Counsel, which is prosecuting the case...
