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Friday, April 4, 2025

Trump’s “Red Line” for Iran

Hugh Hewitt: If President Trump wants to secure a national security legacy that will never be other than history changing, the time to do so is fast approaching… Iran will not be allowed to “break out” and make a nuclear weapon. The president has also been precise. He’d much rather Iran negotiate the process by which it destroys its forbidden weapons program, but the president vowed he will use force if Ayatollah Khamenei refuses to deconstruct its nuke program and do so in a way that is verifiable. Trump sent the “Supreme Leader” of Iran a letter to that effect and he has been clear as clear can be: Iran can chose the easy way or the hard way, but it has to choose… But we do not know what Iran has deployed around the world —and in the U.S.— to strike back in response. We will not put “boots on the ground” in Iran, but the mullahs and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and its expeditionary Quds Force may already have deployed their cells across Europe and the U.S. as pre-positioned “paybacks-in-waiting.” Iran has about a million men in arms at present. They could not easily embark on any sort of ground invasion that threatens us directly. But Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal may number around 3,000 and some of those can travel more than 1200 miles… But Trump has drawn a bright red line, though he hasn’t used that term. He knows President Bill Clinton blinked in 1994 when North Korea approached breakout on that country’s nuclear weapons program. The result of Clinton’s stand-down is that North Korea now has a significant nuclear arsenal as well as the confidence such weaponry brings. Nukes provide the sort of shield that allows Kim Jong Un to dispatch tens of thousands of soldiers to Russia to fight alongside Putin’s conscripts in the ongoing war against Ukraine. Having nuclear weapons changes everything for a country —and for its opponents. That’s why Trump made his demand on Iran, made it early in his second term, made it explicit, and made it multiple times. Trump knows what a disaster it will be if Iran gets nukes. (Fox News).

Boston DA, Judge Hold ICE Officer in Contempt for Fulfilling Duties of His Job

PJ Media: A Boston District Attorney and a Boston judge are getting a well-deserved lesson in constitutional law and the Supremacy Clause, and it’s coming from U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Leah Foley. It seems an Immigrations & Customs Enforcement officer, Brian Sullivan, arrested an illegal alien in a Boston courtroom, pursuant to a valid federal warrant. Now the DA is threatening Sullivan for taking the illegal alien out of the courtroom, and the judge in the case has already found Officer Sullivan in contempt for arresting the illegal alien during the trial… Officer Sullivan, we note, was doing his duty. He had a valid federal warrant for the arrest. Boston, as a “sanctuary” city, would very likely have released this criminal to the streets, a criminal with serious drug trafficking charges (PJ Media). Bill Melugin: The illegal alien ICE Boston arrested during his criminal trial had prior arrests for serious drug trafficking charges & was arrested on a valid federal warrant, according to the US Attorney in Massachusetts… Leah Foley, US Attorney in Massachusetts, writes the following in a letter to Suffolk County (Boston) DA Kevin Hayden: “The fact that you disfavor ICE officers doing their jobs is not a basis for criminal charges. In fact, there is no legal basis for such charges. You may very well disagree with the enforcement of our federal immigration laws, but it is inappropriate to suggest to the public that federal officers can be criminally prosecuted by your office for performing their official duties. Any attempt or threat to interfere with the lawful actions of federal government agents will not be tolerated. It is a felony offense to assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate, or interfere with an immigration officer’s efforts to duly execute the immigration laws of the United States” (X).

Palestinian Family Kills Hamas Operative

Times of Israel: Members of a prominent Gazan family in Deir al-Balah on Tuesday executed a man who they said was a Hamas operative responsible for the deadly shooting of one of their relatives earlier in the day. The gunmen were members of the Abu Samra clan of central Gaza. They said they killed the Hamas member after he shot their relative Abdulrahman Sha’aban Abu Samra while he was waiting in line for flour in Deir al-Balah. Members of the family said they managed to track down the Hamas operative responsible and brought him in front of the entrance of Deir al-Balah where several relatives opened fire. Footage of the execution was shared widely on Palestinian social media and appeared to highlight growing fury with Hamas among Gaza civilians. Gaza has dozens of powerful families like the Abu Samra family, who function as well-organized clans. Many do not have formal links to Hamas (Times of Israel). Townhall: The fact that Palestinian civilians were willing to brazenly execute a Hamas terrorist in broad daylight suggests that Hamas has lost much of its power. This scenario would likely not have happened before the war because the group routinely used vicious violence to suppress any attempt at rebellion. Hamas has ruled the Gaza Strip with an iron fist, suppressing dissent and imprisoning or executing those who dared to speak a critical word about the organization. This is why this incident, as well as others, signals that the group might have lost a significant level of control over Gaza (Townhall).

IDF Kills Armed Targets in Syria

Jerusalem Post: The IDF killed several armed targets who fired on troops in the Tasil area of southern Syria on Wednesday night, the military confirmed on Thursday. Israeli forces also confiscated weapons and destroyed terrorist infrastructure, the military added. Defense Minister Israel Katz later stated that Israel’s strikes were “a warning for the future” (Jerusalem Post). BBC: Israel’s defense minister warned Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Thursday that he would “pay a very heavy price” if he allowed “forces hostile to Israel” to enter the country. The Israeli military has carried out hundreds of strikes across Syria to destroy military assets – including jets, tanks, missiles, air defence systems, weapons factories and research centres – since former president Bashar al-Assad’s regime was overthrown by rebel forces in December after 13 years of civil war (BBC).

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries Looks to Sue Texas Governor Greg Abbott for Not Holding Special Election Sooner

NBC: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., is threatening a lawsuit against Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott for holding off on calling a special election to fill a vacant House seat in Houston, which Democrats allege is a deliberate move designed to help pad the GOP’s razor-thin majority. In a response to a question, Jeffries said it’s “very likely” that Democrats will pursue litigation against Abbott, who has yet to set a date for an election to replace Rep. Sylvester Turner, who died in early March (NBC). Just the News: Abbott press secretary Andrew Mahaleris said in a statement: “An announcement on a special election will be made at a later date.” Turner died March 5. He was 70. Christian Menefee, a Democrat and attorney who said he would run for Turner’s congressional seat, also threatened legal action (Just the News).

Pro-Hamas Activists Attack Charity Center Run by Sen. John Fetterman’s Wife

Townhall: Pro-Hamas activists targeted Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) again. This time, they attacked the charity center in his hometown of Braddock, Pennsylvania, where he was once mayor of the tiny Pittsburgh-area borough and still resides with his young family. The Free Store 15104, which Fetterman’s wife Gisele Barreto Fetterman runs, was defaced overnight with pro-terrorism messages telling “Genocide John” and “Genocide Gisele” that they have “Blood On Their Hands” (Townhall). Senator John Fetterman: People defaced the FreeStore in Braddock last night. Since 10/7/23, I’m used to the vandalism at our home or my office. But Gisele and volunteers distribute food, clothing and formula at no cost to our community—and they shouldn’t have to put up with this (X).

Pentagon’s Inspector General Launches Investigation Into Pete Hegseth’s Use of Signal App to Coordinate Military Strikes

Townhall: The Pentagon’s acting inspector general announced on Thursday that his agency will investigate Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of the Signal messaging app to coordinate plans to bomb Houthi rebels in Yemen. The chat came to light when The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg wrote a piece claiming he was accidentally invited to Signal group of top White House officials discussing the planned assault. The Acting Inspector General Steven A. Stebbins sent a letter to Hegseth informing him of the probe (Townhall). Salem News Channel: The review will also look at other defense officials’ use of the publicly available encrypted app, which is not able to handle classified material and is not part of the Defense Department’s secure communications network (Salem News Channel).

Severe Storm Kills Several People, Threatens 55 Million More Americans

New York Post: A deadly severe weather system continues to charge east Thursday and is expected to tear across more than a dozen states, from parts of Texas to the densely populated mid-Atlantic and Northeast, placing over 55 million Americans directly in the path of its destructive forces. This comes after the severe weather turned deadly on Wednesday as several tornadoes ravaged parts of the Mississippi Valley. Meanwhile, a once-in-a-generation flooding event is expected from Arkansas to Indiana through the weekend. Residents of Nashville, Tennessee, endured a harrowing Wednesday night as a relentless barrage of Tornado Warnings swept through the city and surrounding areas of Middle Tennessee (New York Post). Washington Post: Three fatalities occurred in Tennessee, one in Missouri, and one in Indiana, according to state officials. One death occurred in the middle of the night when the victim’s home in Fayette County, Tennessee, was flipped upside down, according to the county’s Emergency Management Agency. In Indiana, a person was killed after driving over a downed power line (Washington Post).

EPA to Close “Environmental Justice” Museum

PJ Media: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) celebrated the fight against climate change and promoted the concept of “environmental justice.” Unfortunately, few other people in America celebrated or promoted those concepts. We know this because a large exhibit at EPA headquarters dedicated to acknowledging those issues drew precisely 1,909 people over the last nine months…The museum opened in May 2024 and was praised by then-EPA administrator Michael Regan as a demonstration of “our nation’s work to protect public health and the environment” (PJ Media). Townhall: Katie Pavlich has a proposal for “green celebrities” like Leonardo DiCaprio who like to lecture Americans about the environment: “They could fund this type of museum…$4 million, that’s a drop in the bucket for them. If it’s really that important…” (X).

10.

Ford Motor Company Opens Employee Pricing Campaign for Customers

Washington Examiner: Ford Motor Company unveiled a new campaign Thursday offering employee pricing to all U.S. customers on almost every Ford and Lincoln model. The ‘From America, For America’ campaign comes as the auto industry faces 25% tariffs on foreign imports. Ford’s Chief Policy Director Steve Croley assured that since the majority of its vehicles sold in the U.S. are also made here, their vehicles won’t see a tariff. However, they will still face tariffs when it comes to foreign auto components down the road, but this latest initiative could save customers as much as $4,000 in the meantime. This promotion will last until June 2 or until the existing inventory runs out (Washington Examiner). Eric Daugherty: Ford has decided to give Americans employee pricing on all vehicles through June of this year. This comes as Trump’s tariffs are starting to hit. Ford is a true American company. Thank you, Ford, for putting Americans first (X)!

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