New Fedaral Reserve head says he'll make decisions independent of Trump

NY Times - Kevin M. Warsh, President Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Reserve, asserted at a confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday that he would not do the president’s bidding on interest rate decisions, pledging to be “strictly independent” if confirmed for one of the world’s most powerful economic positions.

In sometimes testy exchanges, Mr. Warsh, 56, sought to dispel doubts around his credibility, saying Mr. Trump had “never asked me to predetermine, commit, fix, decide on any interest rate decision in any of our discussions, nor would I ever agree to do so.”

Democrats also sought clarity on his roughly $100 million in assets that he has agreed to divest if he is confirmed. Mr. Warsh said that confidentiality agreements had prevented him from providing specific details, and said his investments will be “as plain vanilla as possible” and “sitting in something like cash.”

Mr. Warsh touched on several reforms he would support if confirmed, including changing how the Fed communicates around its policy decisions, and providing fewer hints about the future to avoid officials getting boxed in. He also reiterated his commitment to keep the Fed focused on keeping inflation low and stable and avoiding issues that fall outside its remit.

“The president believes that real economic growth in the U.S. and real take home pay will accelerate,” he said. “I share the president’s confidence in the country and its people. America’s economic growth potential is rising as we sit here today.”

Harris claims Trump pulled into Iran war by Netanyahu

Congressional Insider - Former Vice President Kamala Harris accuses President Trump of being “pulled” into an Iran war by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, raising questions about whose interests truly drive America’s military choices.

She links the conflict to soaring gas prices, with Americans paying $15 more per tank and 50% higher diesel costs.

Claims lack evidence, highlighting partisan attacks amid a war yielding historic U.S.-Israel gains against Iran.

Gambling addicted states

WalletHub - With the gambling industry generating a record $78.7 billion in revenue last year, ... WalletHub has released its report on the 2026’s Most Gambling-Addicted States, along with expert insights, to shed light on where this risky addiction is most widespread.

To create the ranking, WalletHub compared all 50 states using 20 key metrics, including factors such as illegal gambling activity, lottery spending per person, and the percentage of adults struggling with gambling disorders.

 

Most Gambling-Addicted States	Least Gambling-Addicted States
1. Nevada	41. Maryland
2. South Dakota	42. Connecticut
3. Montana	43. Florida
4. Mississippi	44. Wisconsin
5. Louisiana	45. Nebraska
6. West Virginia	46. Hawaii
7. Pennsylvania	47. Kansas
8. New Jersey	48. Alaska
9. Oregon	49. Vermont
10. Oklahoma	50. Utah

 
To view the full report 

A GOP House member wants to deport citizens for their politics

Alternet America - A Republican introduced a bill this week to deport people for their beliefs and explicitly cut the courts out of the process. Checks and balances had a good run.

Rep. Chip Roy of Texas introduced the Measures Against Marxism’s Dangerous Adherents and Noxious Islamists Act (the MAMDANI Act) which would deport, denaturalize, deny citizenship, or bar entry to any citizen or immigrant who is a member of a socialist party, a communist party, the Chinese Communist Party, or an Islamic fundamentalist party.

The bill is named after Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Socialist mayor of New York City, who is Muslim and was born in Uganda. Roy has been upset about his existence for some time.

The legislation would also bar judicial review of decisions made under its inadmissibility, deportation, or denaturalization clauses, making such determinations final and legally unchallengeable. So the government could strip someone’s citizenship for their political beliefs, and that person would have no legal recourse.

Health

Green Energy Times - For every day of heat above 100.4°F, the risk of heart disease for an individual increased by about 3%. [ABC News]

Health - Thousands of whole cantaloupes have been recalled in four states, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The fruits were initally pulled from shelves in late March due to potential contamination with Salmonella, the deadliest foodborne pathogen in the U.S. ... The affected fruit was distributed to California, Florida, New York, and Pennsylvania. The FDA did not provide specific instructions for this recall, but given the potential Salmonella contamination, the safest option is not to consume the recalled cantaloupe, throw it out, and disinfect any surfaces it may have touched.

....

Celebrating Earth Day and co-ops

Erbin Crowell, Green Energy Times -  The first Earth Day was celebrated in the U.S. in 1970 as awareness of the impacts of pollution and industrial agriculture on the environment and human health was reaching a peak. The date of April 22 was originally chosen because it fell during spring break for many schools, offering an opportunity to engage young people in community activism and advocacy. The next few years saw the establishment of the United States Environmental Protection Agency as well as the passage of critical legislation such as the National Environmental Education Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act.

Not surprisingly, many of the food co-ops here in the Northeast were founded in the 1970s, riding this wave of ecological awareness. In the spirit of mutual self-help, people used their volunteer energy to build a democratic economic alternative — member-owned grocery stores rooted in their communities and controlled by the people who shopped and worked there. Food co-ops were also pioneers in local sourcing, bulk buying, and organic products, innovations that were later adopted by mainstream retailers.

In 2009, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly made April 22 an annual global celebration, International Mother Earth Day, and approved the Millenium Declaration the next year. With goals ranging from halving extreme poverty rates and halting the spread of HIV/AIDS, to providing universal primary education and ensuring environmental sustainability by 2015, the endeavor was unprecedented in its global scale. Co-ops were seen as key partners in the effort, demonstrated by the declaration of 2012 as the first International Year of Co-operatives.

....Today, more than 20 of the food co-ops founded in the northeast region in the ‘70s continue to serve their communities today. And while a new wave of start-ups has contributed to the growth of the movement in our region, the more than 60 food co-ops in New England and New York State remain true to their ideals. For example, an average of 30% of goods sold at these grocery stores are sourced from local producers. You can also find organic products that reduce pesticide pollution and support healthy soils, buy in bulk to help reduce packaging waste, and choose fairly traded and co-op products that benefit workers and producers in the developing world. In response to food insecurity, many food co-ops have also launched Healthy Food Access programs that make healthy, local food more accessible and contribute to community organizations through round up at the register efforts.

Gas and oil

Bloomberg - There’s more evidence of pain in the airline industry from surging jet fuel prices. Alaska Air suspended its full-year profit guidance and is forecasting a second-quarter loss. Spirit raised the prospect of offering the US government an equity stake to help stave off its potential liquidation. And over at JetBlue, CEO Joanna Geraghty waved off recent speculation about a bankruptcy filing.

Axios - Even if the Iran conflict ended now and the Strait of Hormuz fully opened, don't look for a quick return to pre-war gas prices. Costlier fill-ups are the most direct and visible economic effect of the war for many Americans, and could sway midterm election races.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNN Sunday that gas might not drop all the way down to the pre-war level — averaging just under $3 per gallon in the U.S. — until next year. But President Trump appeared to contradict him in comments to The Hill yesterday, seeing a faster drop.

Researchers and the analysts we've talked to see slower price drops — pretty close to Wright's prediction.

• And the Iran war — and threats to oil supplies — remain so unpredictable that the country could even face more spikes.  Full story

Epstein Inquiry

Alternet - House Republicans have orchestrated a deliberate strategy to avoid formal hearings on the Epstein investigation by replacing them with informal roundtable discussions, according to Democrats on the House Oversight Committee. According to Politico, the shift coincides with a spike in Democratic subpoena motions aimed at forcing testimony related to the investigation into the late Jeffrey Epstein.

....Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) inadvertently revealed the reasoning behind the shift during a March subcommittee roundtable on mental health issues.

"It's no secret why we are not doing a formal hearing today," Grothman said. "We'd like this hearing to be solely focused on the issue before you, and there is some concern that — both parties are guilty of this — that they make motions in the middle of the hearing and try to bring up unrelated topics."

The statement suggests Republicans are using roundtables — which operate without formal procedures — to prevent Democrats from raising Epstein-related questions during committee proceedings.

Middle East

NPR  

Today is the final full day of the ceasefire agreement between the U.S., Israel and Iran. The future of peace talks remains uncertain. A temporary ceasefire remains in place in Lebanon, but people there are closely monitoring the situation between the U.S. and Iran.

NPR's Kat Lonsdorf, who is in south Lebanon, tells Up First that there is a sense there that if U.S.-Iran talks fall apart, so will the temporary ceasefire that pauses the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Life hasn't returned to normal for residents in Lebanon as Israel continues to occupy significant land along the border to prevent Hezbollah attacks. Many of the more than one million people displaced in this war cannot return home. People Londsorf spoke to told her they question how long Israel will occupy the land, even if the ceasefire extends. The last time Israel occupied Southern Lebanon, it did so for nearly two decades.

The Guardian - Israeli soldiers and settlers are using gendered violence and sexual assault and harassment to force Palestinians from their homes in the occupied West Bank, human rights and legal experts say. Palestinian women, men and children have reported attacks, forced nudity, invasive and painful body cavity searches, Israelis exposing their genitals, including to minors, and threats of sexual violence. Sixteen cases of conflict-related sexual violence were recorded by researchers for the West Bank Protection Consortium over the last three years, a figure that is likely an under-reporting because of the shame and stigma faced by survivors.

Bill Clinton

Deep State Tribunal - Former Clinton insider Dick Morris revealed Bill Clinton repeatedly asked him to poll-test the political fallout of divorcing Hillary, exposing what many Americans have long suspected: Washington’s power couples prioritize political expediency over genuine partnership....Morris describes the Clinton marriage as evolving from “true love” to a politically calculated arrangement amid Bill’s affairs.

Trump regime reopens talks with Cuba

Deep State Tribunal - The Trump administration just reopened direct talks with Cuba—using Raúl Castro’s own inner circle as the channel—and tied any relief to prisoners, property claims, and U.S. security concerns. 

A U.S. State Department delegation met Cuban officials in Havana on April 10, marking the first such in-person talks in about a decade. U.S. officials pressed for political prisoner releases, compensation for confiscated U.S. property, and concrete reforms as Cuba’s economy deteriorates.

The talks reportedly involved Raúl Castro’s grandson, Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, suggesting Washington is bypassing Cuba’s public-facing leadership.

10 Costco Secrets

Refunding tariffs: Things to know

The Trump Administration is expected to begin refunding $166 billion in tariff payments this week following a February Supreme Court ruling that found the policy unconstitutional. 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which is managing the refund process, launched a portal for businesses to apply on Monday morning, with refunds expected to take two to three months.

The refunds could prove to be a windfall for small businesses that have been bearing the brunt of President Donald Trump's vast tariff regime, unveiled last year, which targeted imports from almost every country in the world

Workers

Newsworthy News - Millions of working Americans face losing their health coverage under new federal rules that penalize the poor for failing to navigate bureaucratic paperwork, not for refusing to work.

• Federal law mandates 80 hours monthly of work or approved activities for Medicaid recipients starting January 2027, threatening 5.2 million with coverage loss
• Middle-aged workers over 50 face disproportionate impact despite 92% of enrollees already meeting activity requirements
• States must implement complex verification systems while some like Arizona propose even stricter 100-hour monthly requirements
• Policy experts warn administrative burdens will cause coverage losses among compliant workers unable to document their activities properly

Russia Publishes Hit List—NATO Allies in Crosshairs

Newsworthy News - Russia’s Defense Ministry has published lists naming specific European drone manufacturing facilities as “potential military targets,” marking an unprecedented escalation that threatens NATO member states on their own soil.

Russia publicly identified 21 drone manufacturing facilities across 12 European countries, including Britain, Germany, Italy, and Spain, as legitimate military targets.

....At least one published address was a residential building in Munich, raising questions about Russia’s intelligence accuracy and suggesting deliberate disinformation tactics.

Share of Young Adults Living With Parents in U.S. States

The Data of Everything

1) New Jersey ~ 44.1% 2) Connecticut ~ 41.3% 3) California ~ 39.1% 4) Maryland ~ 38.5% 5) Delaware ~ 37.0% 6) Florida ~ 36.6% 7) New Hampshire ~ 36.5% 8) New York ~ 35.9% 9) Massachusetts ~ 35.7% 10) Illinois ~ 35.1% 10) Nevada ~ 35.1% 12) Pennsylvania ~ 34.7% 13) Georgia ~ 34.4% 14) Rhode Island ~ 33.8% 15) Hawaii ~ 33.3% 16) New Mexico ~ 33.2% 16) Texas ~ 33.2% 18) Mississippi ~ 33.0% 19) Michigan ~ 32.5% 20) Virginia ~ 32.0% 21) Alabama ~ 31.8% 22) Arizona ~ 30.7% 23) Louisiana ~ 30.2% 24) South Carolina ~ 29.6% 25) Ohio ~ 28.5% 26) Indiana ~ 28.4% 27) North Carolina ~ 28.3% 27) West Virginia ~ 28.3% 29) Tennessee ~ 27.5% 30) Minnesota ~ 27.1% 31) Utah ~ 26.8% 31) Washington ~ 26.8% 33) Missouri ~ 26.6% 34) Kentucky ~ 26.5% 35) Vermont ~ 26.4% 36) Alaska ~ 26.2% 36) Maine ~ 26.2% 36) Oregon ~ 26.2% 39) Oklahoma ~ 26.1% 40) Idaho ~ 25.4% 41) Arkansas ~ 25.3% 41) Wisconsin ~ 25.3% 41) Kansas ~ 23.3% 41) Montana ~ 23.3% 45) Colorado ~ 22.8% 46) Iowa ~ 21.6% 47) Nebraska ~ 20.4% 48) South Dakota ~ 17.7% 49) Wyoming ~ 16.2% 50) District of Columbia ~ 13.3% U.S. Average ~ 33.0% Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2025), FinanceBuzz

Literacy

Health

Washington Post - A Washington Post analysis found that through March 31, halfway through this fiscal year, the number of competitive grants awarded by the National Institutes of Health is down by more than half compared with the same period last year. Biomedical funding has also undergone a shift, the analysis found, cutting the U.S. research footprint across nearly every major disease area — including fewer grants focused on women’s health, cancer and mental health.

Overall, the NIH supported over 2,700 fewer scientific projects in fiscal 2025, about a 15 percent cut in the number of competitive grants compared with the previous fiscal year. In Burns’s field, women’s health, there was a 31 percent drop in the number of projects funded in 2025 that included the word “women,” after years of steady growth in competitive awards.

Jacobin -   Mexico’s new national health system aims to provide universal care. At a moment when US taxpayer dollars are being harnessed to destroy health care infrastructure abroad, Mexico is attempting to make a constitutional right to care into a reality

Congressional Insider - A major European study tracking over 10,000 aging adults has upended the mainstream narrative about loneliness and cognitive decline, revealing that while isolation hurts memory now, it doesn’t actually speed up the brain’s aging process—challenging decades of assumptions and raising questions about how public health officials have been framing this growing crisis.

Health - To examine the link between home cooking and dementia, researchers turned to the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study, an ongoing program that has tracked Japanese adults ages 65 and older since 1999. The team analyzed data from nearly 11,000 participants over six years, looking at how many people developed dementia, how often they cooked at home, and how they rated their cooking skills.

A clear pattern emerged: Participants who cooked at home at least once a week experienced significantly less cognitive decline than those who cooked less often. 

Men who cooked regularly had a 23% lower risk of dementia, while women saw an even larger reduction, at 27%. People who started out with minimal cooking skills seemed to benefit the most, with a 67% lower incidence of dementia. The link held even when researchers accounted for lifestyle and socioeconomic factors.

Varied taxes

Robert Reich - Effective 2025 federal tax rates paid by these corporations: 

Alphabet: 8.01%

AT&T: 4.6%

Meta: 3.57%

General Motors: 3.09%

Amazon: 1.37%

Exxon Mobil: 1.31%

Disney: -1.57%

CVS Health: -3.88%

Income tax rate paid by the typical American: 14.5%