Property taxes vary across America

A new analysis from the personal finance website WalletHub has underscored how property taxes can fluctuate significantly from state to state, with some boasting effective rates several times higher than lower-taxed parts of the country.

Property taxes have emerged as a primary “hidden cost” facing both current and prospective homeowners, as widespread housing affordability pressures have dampened demand across the real estate sector. Falling sales, reluctant buyers, and inventory issues have been cited among key challenges facing the housing market in 2026, and ones which experts say are likely to persist with the influence of wider economic conditions on home-selling activity.

According to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the average American household pays $3,119 each year in property taxes, and WalletHub notes that these can impact both owners and renters given their importance to local government budgets as well as the influence on rental prices.

Polls

Newsweek - Vice President JD Vance's approval rating has fallen sharply, hitting what CNN data analyst Harry Enten says is the lowest point for any vice president at this stage in office... Enten showed that Vice President Kamala Harris was at minus 13 points at a comparable moment. Mike Pence stood at minus 7, Joe Biden had a net positive of 4 points and Dick Cheney had the significantly higher net approval rating of plus 37.

While he allowed that vice presidents in general appeared to be becoming less popular over time, the trend did not fully explain the depth of Vance's decline.  "JD Vance is not doing too hot to trot at this point," Enten said, noting that the former U.S. senator from Ohio had started his vice presidency in positive territory.  Vance's net approval rating has dropped from plus 3 points to minus 18. "That is a 21-point swing in the wrong direction," Enten said, adding, "Down he goes."

Newsweek -  U.S. President Donald Trump's approval rating has fallen since he announced a two-week ceasefire deal with Iran on Tuesday after threatening to annihilate the country's infrastructure, according to a new poll.

The survey by Daily Mail and JL Partners, conducted on 1,000 registered voters on Wednesday, found that 43 percent of respondents approved of Trump, while 57 percent disapproved. This gave Trump a net approval rating of -14 percentage points. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

Newsweek - Vance has 36 percent of the potential vote, compared with Newsom's 33 percent. The survey shows that 12 percent are undecided, and 17 percent say they would not vote.

Iran

Bloomberg - Overnight, Israel launched its largest assault on Lebanon since invading, killing at least 200 people. Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, whose father was killed in the first days of the US-Israel attacks, repeated demands for war reparations as part of any peace agreement. —David E. Rovella

NPR - Vice President Vance will head a U.S. delegation for peace talks with Iran in Pakistan this weekend. Negotiators will meet in the country’s capital of Islamabad for crucial talks aimed at ending the ongoing conflict involving the U.S., Israel and Iran. This is a significant moment for Vance, who has previously made statements about keeping the U.S. out of foreign wars. He faces the challenge of bringing together two countries that have been enemies for nearly 50 years. 

NPR’s Danielle Kurtzleben tells Up First there is some logic to Vance playing a role in trying to end this conflict, especially if he wants to run for president in 2028. A major objective for the talks is to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The crucial waterway doesn't appear to be fully open even after the ceasefire, and it's unclear where things stand, Kurtzleben says.

As the U.S. and Iran prepare to negotiate a peace deal, the two-day-old ceasefire is showing signs of stress. Iran's Foreign Ministry says it won't take part in the overall talks on Saturday unless Lebanon is included in the ceasefire. Israel says its offensive against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon is not part of the deal. Under pressure from President Trump and other leaders, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he plans to enter into direct talks with Lebanon. Talks between Israel and Lebanon will take place at the ambassador level in Washington. NPR’s Carrie Kahn says this is a huge deal because the two countries have never had negotiations like this before. 

The Guardian - As Pakistan prepared to host negotiations between Iran and the US, the already fragile ceasefire in the conflict showed further strain as Donald Trump accused Tehran of doing “a very poor job” in upholding promises on the strait of Hormuz, and Israel attacked Lebanon – which Iran claimed violated the truce.

The two-week ceasefire agreement brokered by Pakistan included the two sides agreeing to meet in Islamabad this weekend for talks to negotiate a lasting peace. But while Iran and Pakistan asserted that the ceasefire included Lebanon, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said there was “no ceasefire in Lebanon” and Israel would continue “to strike Hezbollah with full force”.

What about the strait of Hormuz? The agreement also included Iran lifting its near-total blockade of the strait, which has caused the worst-ever disruption to global energy supplies. Trump posted on Truth Social late Thursday that Iran was being “dishonorable” in not allowing oil to go through the strait. “That is not the agreement we have!” Trump wrote.  More

Healthcare costs

Caitlin Owens,  Axios - I haven't seen this level of interest in going after the underlying drivers of health care costs in the 11 years I've been covering the subject. Lowering health care costs explicitly means clamping down on the business practices that make some people a lot of money.

If either party is serious about any of this, it's declaring war on a sector that makes up nearly a fifth of the U.S. economy.

The big picture: Every major health care segment seems to be in trouble.

... Both parties are raging against "Big Insurance" and want to see profit-seeking behaviors checked. The pharmaceutical industry, which used to enjoy the full-throated backing of the GOP, has very few friends left who are willing to go to bat for it.

And the protective halo that used to enshroud hospitals from political scrutiny has been pierced.

In  recent weeks, an influential Democratic-aligned think tank has put out a health plan calling for premium regulation and hospital price caps, and a Republican-aligned one published a blog post attacking one of hospitals' arguments for more government funding.

The Trump administration filed its second lawsuit accusing a hospital of anti-competitive contracting behavior.

....And let's not forget that Republicans' massive Medicaid overhaul last year included hundreds of billions in payment cuts to providers.

...The pharmaceutical industry has survived two different administrations' efforts to lower drug prices, and analysts have largely dismissed the changes that were enacted as immaterial to companies' bottom lines.

....The bottom line: Health care costs have been going up forever. The question has always been whether they'd reach a breaking point — and politically speaking, we might be there.

But we're still a ways off from serious attempts to rein in prices, and no future attempt is guaranteed to work.

Attorney General appointment

Roll Call - President Donald Trump will have wide latitude to keep his preferred pick leading the Justice Department after his firing of ally Pamela Bondi, including scenarios that could entirely avoid a Senate confirmation process well into the future. Any permanent attorney general nominee could face a tough path to confirmation in the Senate, where controversies and attacks against the department’s independence have outraged Democrats and at times spurred concern from some Republicans.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, already indicated in a CNN interview that he would not back an attorney general nominee who has excused the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. He previously has criticized a Justice Department probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell as a threat to the independence of the central bank.

Several names have been floated in news reports as potential replacements for Bondi, but the president has not announced a nominee. Meanwhile, the president’s former personal attorney, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, is leading the department as acting attorney general. Blanche, experts say, could remain as acting attorney general for many months, if not longer, depending on the consent of Senate Republican leadership and the interpretation of federal statute.

Climate

NY Times - After the warmest winter on record for many states and a blistering March heat wave that left almost no snow in parts of the American West, the region is facing a summer of serious wildfire risks and a drought that could force broad water restrictions.

New measurements this month show most of the Mountain West won’t be able to rely on melting snow, the region’s largest water source, because there’s hardly any snowpack there. And while some rain is forecast in the coming weeks, any spring precipitation will likely be too little, too late, scientists said.

“It’s going to be a seriously dry summer ahead,” said Nels Bjarke, a research scientist with the Western Water Assessment at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Scientists in many parts of the West found a snow drought this month unlike any they had seen. Almost the whole region was affected, rather than just isolated pockets, said Noah Molotch, a professor of hydrology at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

At one key snowpack measurement site in California’s Sierra Nevada, scientists last week found only traces of snow. In parts of western Colorado, mountain slopes where researchers have always measured at least 6 inches of snowpack at this time of year were virtually snowless. Across that state, snowpack was less than half of normal.

Those findings were the product of a record-warm winter for many western states. Through much of the winter, temperatures were simply too warm for it to snow, and precipitation fell as rain instead, unlike in previous low-snow years caused by a general lack of moisture, said Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources. Snowpack, which builds up over the winter and spring, provides a larger, steadier and less ephemeral source of water than rain.

Discover Wildlife - Every year since 2002, Greenland has lost 264 gigatons of ice, causing sea levels to rise by 0.8mm annually. This may not initially seem like a huge rise, but when you consider that 10% of the world’s population live within 5km of the coast at elevations near sea level, it soon becomes an alarming statistic.

The loss of Greenland’s ice is largely driven by warming air and sea temperatures linked to anthropogenic global warming. However, a new study led by the University of Leeds has just highlighted a relatively unexplored feature that is amplifying this loss - the meltwater lakes forming at the end of Greenland’s retreating glaciers.

As a glacier melts and retreats up the valley it formed in, it exposes deep, bowl-shaped hollows in the surrounding landscape that quickly fill with meltwater. These lakes are known as ice-marginal lakes (or IMLs) and they can grow as large as 117km2, which is roughly the same area occupied by the urban subdivision of Leeds in England.

The recent study, published last week in the journal Communications Earth and Environment, demonstrates IMLs aren’t just the results of retreating glaciers, but rather active agents in their demise, destabilising them, triggering movement, and increasing thinning, all of which contribute to ice loss.

When a glacier flows into an IML, its front is partly lifted, exposing its underside to increased melting. This reduces the friction that typically slows the glacier’s flow and increases the likelihood of large slabs breaking away via a process known as ‘calving’.

JD Vance

MS NOW - Vice President JD Vance heads to Islamabad this weekend in a precarious position: hoping to negotiate a lasting end to a war in Iran he never wanted. 

Vance has privately voiced opposition to the war for weeks — to President Trump and top White House aides — even as Trump has pursued an aggressive military campaign, according to two White House officials granted anonymity to speak candidly about internal dynamics. Now, he will lead the U.S. delegation in ceasefire talks with Iran — perhaps the highest-stakes assignment of his political career.

The balancing act of publicly supporting Trump’s military campaign while privately expressing reservations has left some in Vance’s inner circle on edge, according to one of the officials.

“Vance’s national security team is extremely wary,” the official said. “So many people are afraid of being on the outs.”

The White House has forcefully defended Vance’s support for and involvement in Trump’s war effort, pushing back against early criticism that Vance had gone silent and been excluded from key meetings during the opening weeks of the war. 

Trump to close all regional forest service offices

All regional offices of the US Forest Service, which manages 78m hectares (193m acres) of land – roughly the size of Texas – are set to close as part of an overhaul launched by the Trump administration. The service has already shed hundreds of staff members since Trump returned to power last year.

The latest restructuring, announced on 30 March, includes a move to relocate the agency’s headquarters from Washington DC to Salt Lake City, Utah; the consolidation of 57 research facilities into a single site in Colorado; and the closure of regional offices across the country in favor of 15 politically appointed “state directors”.

“Trump’s moves are illegal, because this kind of activity was explicitly prohibited in fiscal year 2026 appropriations,” said Steve Lenkart, executive director of the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), which represents 20,000 workers at the service. “The Republican Congress is allowing the White House to break the law and violate the constitution, without so much as a peep from our big, brave, so-called freedom-seeking Republicans. They won’t even uphold their own oaths to support and defend the constitution from tyranny.”

Trump vs. the Pope

New Republic - The Trump administration threatened Pope Leo. Pentagon officials told Vatican officials in a closed door meeting, “The United States has the military power to do whatever it wants in the world. The Catholic Church had better take its side."

Donald Trump

Occupy Democrats  -  King Trump now wants the American people to fund his $15 million monument to himself that will desecrate the hallowed Arlington National Cemetery! For the first time, the Trump administration admits it will seek funding from the from the National Endowment for the Humanities to build his own personal Arc de Trump in Washington D.C., asking for $2 million straight up plus $13 million in matching grants. During Monday’s Easter Egg roll, with the country on the brink over the illegal Iran war, Trump was carrying around printed renderings of “his” imperial tower.

CNN - Marjorie Taylor Greene on why she called for Trump to be removed from office: "It's absolute madness. How can any person that is mentally stable call for an entire civilization of people to be murdered? That's what the president called for. That shows there's serious instability in his thinking. This should never be tolerated."

Polls

InteractivePolls...

UMass Lowell - Trump Approval 

Approve: 39% 

Disapprove: 61%

——

Net Approval 

GOP: (+54)

Dem: (-90)

Indie: (-42)

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No college: (-16)

4 year grad: (-38)

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Age 18-29: (-38)

Age 30-44: (-30)

Age 45-64: (-11)

Age 65+: (-18)

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Men: (-13)

Women: (-31)

---

Income under 50K: (-18)

50-100K: (-30)

100K+: (-22)

YouGov | 3/26-30 

Newsweek - A new poll from UMass Lowell / YouGov released on Thursday shows Vice President JD Vance leading in a potential head-to-head race for president in 2028 over Democratic Governor of California Gavin Newsom. ...Within the Democratic field, surveys in 2026 showed former Vice President Kamala Harris leading prospective primary voters overall in many polls, with Newsom and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg also drawing measurable support, along with New York U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.....

According to the poll, Vance has 36 percent of the potential vote, compared with Newsom's 33 percent. The survey shows that 12 percent are undecided, and 17 percent say they would not vote.

Independent, UK - New polls reveal Melania Trump is the least popular First Lady ever, with her approval ratings described as "historically awful." Her current approval rating is -12, a significant decrease from +3 in January 2025.

Birth rates drop

Newsweek - Birth rates among mothers in their 20s have declined, a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows. The report from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) shows that among mothers under 30, birth rates decreased between 2024 and 2025, while among those over 30, birth rates increased. The findings could therefore indicate that Generation Z, those born between 1997 and 2012, are having fewer children and waiting longer to have children.
Why It Matters

Birth and fertility rates are falling globally, and have been since the 1970s, according to a 2025 National Bureau of Economic Research paper.

It is believed that lower birth rates, resulting in an aging population, correlate with economic challenges by placing greater strain on Social Security and Medicare services and the health care system. However, others say they can also lead to a rise in nationwide education levels and a drop in poverty rates.

Trump making 401s more hazardous

Project 47 - The Trump administration is pushing a major change that could radically reshape how Americans save for retirement.  Last week, the Department of Labor filed a rule that would allow 401(k) plans to invest in high-risk assets, including cryptocurrency, private equity, hedge-fund-style products, private credit and other alternative investments once reserved for the wealthy. The White House has framed it as “choice” and “liberation” for workers, but the move could turn ordinary Americans’ retirement savings into a high-stakes gamble, exposing millions to volatility and potential losses they may not be prepared to handle. The 401(k) was created in the 1980s as a way for employees to gain direct exposure to the stock market. Unlike traditional defined-benefit pensions, which guaranteed a fixed income in retirement, 401(k)s shifted both responsibility and risk onto the employee. A well-diversified portfolio of equities, bonds and mutual funds allows for long-term growth and relative stability, adding high-risk alternative assets to the mix would fundamentally change the dynamics of retirement investing, potentially exposing savers to significant losses.

Supreme Court

Washington Post - The sharply conservative Supreme Court that President Donald Trump’s three appointees remade is the first since at least the 1950s to reject civil rights claims in a majority of cases involving women and minorities, according to a detailed analysis conducted for The Washington Post.  The shift brings to an end a streak of successive courts expanding such protections that began with the dawn of the civil rights era.

2.5 million Americans lost food stamps thanks to Trump's "one big beautiful bill"

Alternet America - On July 4th, 2025, Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. By December, the results were in.  At least 2.5 million low-income people lost help affording groceries after the bill added new requirements for SNAP and shifted hundreds of millions of dollars in costs from the federal government to states.

Around 6% of the 41 million Americans enrolled in SNAP when Trump signed the bill were no longer receiving benefits by the end of the year. Full-year 2025 data from the USDA shows an even bigger drop: 3.4 million people, roughly 8% of the program’s total.

Arizona was the largest outlier, with a whopping 47% of people in the program (about 424,000 people) losing benefits in 2025. Arizona’s unemployment rate rose over the same period, while the cost of groceries rose about 4%. ... 

Many provisions of the law haven’t even gone into effect yet. The error rate penalties start in 2028. This is the early data.

Best cities for urban gardening

The Nation -   With grocery prices projected to rise by 3.1% in 2026, there’s never been a better time to grow your own food. Estimates show that growing a 600-square-foot plot for fruits and vegetables can save you around $600 in a single season.  To celebrate National Gardening Day (April 14), LawnStarter ranked 2026’s Best Cities for Urban Gardening.

10 Best Cities for Urban Gardening in 2026

Atlanta

Miami

Houston

St. Louis

Jacksonville, Florida

Orlando, Florida

Cincinnati

Fort Myers, Florida

Tampa, Florida

Austin, Texas

To rank the cities, we considered access to community gardens per 10,000 residents, the number of food forests, and average yard sizes. We also factored in local climates, access to gardening supplies, and support like “Right to Garden” laws, among 15 total metrics.

Atlanta (No. 1) dethrones New York (No. 13), which held the top spot in our 2025 ranking....

8.8% of the 500 largest U.S. cities are home to a community food forest. “A food forest is like having a produce stand in your neighborhood,” says Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp (The Hoosier Gardener).

 “Imagine walking down the block to harvest some green beans and tomatoes for dinner and pick a few apples or raspberries for dessert.”

The median yard size among the cities in our ranking is 8,883 sq ft, meaning a modest 600 sq ft vegetable garden would take up approximately 6.8% of the typical backyard. San Francisco (No. 16) is the only city in our ranking where typical homeowners lack the space for a 600 sq ft garden, with average yard sizes of 596 sq ft.

Read the full story here:

Iran

Politico - The Pakistani leader at the center of U.S.-Iran peace talks denounced “violations” that threaten to derail the new ceasefire, as the White House downplayed reports Wednesday that Tehran is again closing the Strait of Hormuz.

“Violations of ceasefire have been reported at few places across the conflict zone which undermine the spirit of peace process,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote in a post on X Wednesday. “I earnestly and sincerely urge all parties to exercise restraint and respect the ceasefire for two weeks, as agreed upon, so that diplomacy can take a lead role towards peaceful settlement of the conflict.”

His message came after Iranian strikes targeted Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates in the hours after President Donald Trump announced the ceasefire, and as Israel continues to attack Hezbollah in Lebanon on Wednesday.

Iranian state media reported later Wednesday that Tehran will soon close the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for the global transit of oil, in response to Israel’s Lebanon strikes.

The developments underscore the fragility of the temporary peace agreement Trump announced on Tuesday, as Iran insists Lebanon be included in the framework and both the president and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argue it remains fair game for Israel Defense Forces attacks.

New Republic - Recent reporting from the Financial Times reveals it was President Trump, not the Iranian government, who was begging for a ceasefire.

FT reports that the Trump administration had been privately pushing for a ceasefire for weeks to alleviate the economic strain caused by Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz, and depending on Pakistan for mediation. Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir was communicating with Iranian officials, special envoy Steve Witkoff, Vice President JD Vance, and Trump himself even after the president threatened to wipe out Iranian civilization on Tuesday.

According to the five people familiar with the diplomatic back channel, Trump had been asking for a ceasefire since as early as March 21, when he first threatened to bomb Iran’s power plants.

The Guardian - The fate of the two-week ceasefire in the Iran conflict looked in peril as both sides gave divergent versions of what had been agreed, Israel intensified its bombing campaign in Lebanon and Iran halted the passage of oil tankers because of an alleged Israeli ceasefire breach.

Iran and Pakistan, which brokered the 11th-hour truce, both asserted that the ceasefire included Lebanon.

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, disagreed and Israeli forces unleashed their heaviest attack of the war so far on more than 100 targets, killing at least 254 people. Donald Trump, after initially remaining silent, said Lebanon was “a separate skirmish” and not part of the deal.

The UN rights chief Volker Türk condemned the scale of Israel’s attacks yesterday as “horrific”.

Artificial Intelligence

Independent, UK - Artificial intelligence is projected to displace approximately 7 per cent of the US workforce by 2035, primarily affecting repetitive and process-oriented roles.  Experts suggest that jobs requiring hands-on physical tasks and human connection are most likely to be resistant to AI replacement.

Nursing is considered AI-proof due to its reliance on complex human emotions, ethical decision-making, and the inherent need for human care and judgment, which AI cannot replicate. Skilled trades, such as electricians and plumbers, are also highly resistant to AI, as they demand intricate physical dexterity, hand-eye coordination, and flexibility that robots currently lack.

Crisis management roles, which involve navigating unexpected events and require human judgment, are deemed AI-proof, although AI tools can assist with data analysis and summarisation.

Polls

Newsweek - Fifty-two percent of registered voters back impeachment compared to 40 percent opposed, according to the survey of 790 voters commissioned by two groups opposing his Iran war and other policies. The finding includes one in seven Republicans supporting removal proceedings.

Route 66 celebrates 100 years

Independent, UK - Route 66, celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, is an iconic American highway stretching about 2,400 miles from Chicago through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona before ending in Santa Monica, California.

Designated in 1926, the 'Mother Road' was created to link the industrial Midwest with the Pacific Coast, fostering commerce and serving as a path of hope for migrants during the Dust Bowl and World War II.

The highway experienced its peak popularity in the post-war era, becoming a favored vacation route adorned with thriving roadside diners, motels, and unique attractions, and was immortalized in popular culture.

Route 66 carries a complex legacy, bringing economic benefits to Native American tribes but also leaving scars of eminent domain across tribal land and perpetuated stereotypes.

Despite being decommissioned as a federal highway in 1985, local governments and private businesses have actively preserved sections of Route 66, ensuring its cultural significance and allure for travellers worldwide.

NATO

Bloomberg - Now the US president is again talking about leaving NATO (though he does not have the legal power to do so). One man, however, has been making it his mission to preserve NATO’s integrity, in part by showing some support for Trump. But as the grim economic and political fallout of the war becomes clear, Secretary General Mark Rutte’s strategy is coming under fire.

Meanwhile. . .

California Sees $6 a Gallon as Gas Prices Rise in Southwest

Health

Congressional Insider - A single gene may explain up to 93% of late-onset Alzheimer’s cases, offering hope for prevention amid frustrations with government-driven healthcare burdens that strain conservative families.

JD Vance

The Hill - Vice President Vance has quickly become a central figure in trying to maintain a shaky ceasefire in a war that he has reportedly been skeptical about from the start.

Vance is set to travel to Islamabad, Pakistan, on Saturday along with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, as the trio attempt to cement a two-week ceasefire and bring an end to hostilities with Iran that have persisted for nearly six weeks.

The truce, announced by Trump on Tuesday night, is off to a troubled start, with Iran continuing to fire on Gulf states on Wednesday and Israel launching waves of deadly strikes on Lebanon.

Vance’s deep reservations about foreign entanglements, as a veteran of the Iraq war, seems to have given him credibility with Iranian officials who have lost trust in Witkoff and Kushner after failed talks before the war.

Elections

MS NOW - Pending before the Supreme Court are three disparate cases, each with the potential to remake rules on district boundaries, campaign finance and the eligibility of certain mail-in ballots. These rulings, issued in the middle of the election season, could potentially confound voters, scramble overworked and threatened election administrators, and alter campaign strategies in the middle of heated election contests. And depending on how the justices rule, these decisions may have cascading effects including new court challenges, legislative changes and even more uncertainty in the months before the midterms.

Population decline in Los Angeles

Congressional Insider - New U.S. Census Bureau reporting shows Los Angeles County had the largest numeric population decline in the country in the most recent annual estimate. Reports cite a mix of high housing costs, taxes, crime concerns, and regulatory burdens as major drivers of domestic out-migration.

The decline has real fiscal consequences: when higher-income residents and employers leave, the remaining tax base must cover the same—or growing—government commitments.  Some growth is shifting to nearby, lower-cost counties and out-of-state metros, reinforcing a broader post-pandemic pattern of Americans moving away from expensive coastal hubs.

Is the Department of Thought Crimes Closing In On You?

Hartmann Report -  Trump’s thought police may already have your name in their database, which is growing — according to Kash Patel — at the rate of around 300% right now. They’re not looking for people who’ve committed crimes, but, rather, for people who they think may commit crimes in the future. Thought and opinion crimes...

We shouldn’t be surprised, as horrific as this is. When wannabe dictators are elected to lead countries and want to end their democracies and impose absolute rule, they typically follow a simple series of steps, sometimes referred to as “The Dictator’s Playbook.” They:

— Purge government institutions of professionals and replace them with yes-men and groveling toadies.

— Strip their political party of anybody who’d even consider challenging them.

— Help friendly oligarchs buy up the nation’s primary media and turn it into a mouthpiece for the new regime, while directing billions in government contracts as recompense to those same men.

— Pack the courts so they and their buddies can crime without consequence while they drain the government of wealth.

— Build a separate, parallel police force loyal first and foremost to Dear Leader they can use to terrify the population and “keep order.”

Best states to rent a home

Via Newsweek: Source: Consumer Affairs, U.S. Census Bureau, NLIHC, NeighborhoodScout, Walk Score, NYU Langone Health

Meanwhile. ..

Independent, UK -  More than 270,000 Chevrolet Malibu cars recalled over faulty rearview camera screen

Axios - Crude oil prices dropped sharply Tuesday evening, falling well under $100 per barrel after President Trump said the U.S. agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran that Pakistan had proposed.

NPR - The U.K. has denied Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, entry into the country following his history of antisemitic comments. The move forced the cancellation of the Wireless music festival, which he was scheduled to headline.