A Conservative for Costa Rica: Populist Laura Fernández Wins Presidential Contest

Yet another nation in our hemisphere moving rightward, another nation with voters fatigued over drug-fueled violence. Wall Street Journal: Fernández, the 39-year-old handpicked candidate of President Rodrigo Chaves, received more than 48% of the votes, enough to avoid a second-round runoff vote. Her four-year term begins in May. Fernández’s election marks the latest victory for conservatives in Latin America, boosting the number of potential allies for President Trump as he focuses American military and economic might on the region. Hondurans late last year elected right-wing candidate Nasry Asfura, whom Trump publicly supported. Chileans in December voted in conservative José Antonio Kast. Bolivia in October ended two decades of socialist rule with the election of President Rodrigo Paz. And Argentina’s libertarian leader, Javier Milei, cemented his hold on power in a crucial midterm election in October after Washington provided a financial bailout. A right-wing candidate is expected to win Peru’s presidential election in April, polls show. Conservatives are also vying for power in elections later this year in Brazil and Colombia, which are ruled by left-wing presidents (Wall Street Journal). Hernandez is also boldly pro-life. Lila Rose: BREAKING: New President of Costa Rica Laura Fernandez calls abortion murder. “Defending the lives of Costa Ricans who have not yet been born is an obligation of the State. Abortion is nothing more than murder.” This is real courage and moral leadership (Rose).

Report: Leader Thune to Use ‘Standing Filibuster’ Rule to Pass the SAVE Act

In the House, Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) and Tim Burchett (R-TN) have been instrumental in forcing a vote on the SAVE Act. The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act would legislate that voters prove citizenship before registering and show ID before voting in federal elections. Rep. Luna on Monday evening: We got assurances on the standing filibuster, which is incredibly important…. The standing filibuster is an old school parliamentary procedure, but it’s a way to break through what we consider traditional norms to get voter ID passed. I think that it’s brilliant that they came up with it, but exactly. That’s why we have these discussions and we’re very happy about the outcome. There should be a standing filibuster out soon (Eagleman). Trump: You go to a grocery store, you have to give ID. You go to a gas station, you give ID, but for voting, they want no voter ID. It’s only for one reason: Because they cheat. We would pass that in 15 minutes. If you don’t get it, you’ll never pass that. You’ll never talk about mail-in ballots. Mail-in ballots make it automatically corrupt (X). More from Tim Burchett: You need to be an American citizen, you need to show an ID if you go register to vote. If you buy a six—I’m not a drinker—but if you buy a six-pack of beer in Knoxville, Tennessee where I grew up, guess what? You got to show an ID. I fly out every week. TSA, I know ’em all. I know ’em and their families. I grew up with some of them, but guess what? I still have to show a dad gum ID if I cash a check. If I deposit money and then want to pull money out, I have to show an ID. All this is is another example of Washington protecting their crooked base. They can’t get elected legitimately (Eagleman).

US, Israel Operating With Unprecedented Cooperation Amidst Possible Attack on Iran

The report comes from Israel’s Walla News: Israel and the U.S. are operating at an unprecedented level of military coordination ahead of a possible large scale strike on Iran, even as diplomatic feelers continue in parallel. According to military correspondent Amir Bohbot, the U.S. is preparing at full strength and with maximum seriousness for a broad attack on Iranian military infrastructure. Israeli officials say Washington views Israel as an integrated partner across multiple dimensions, requiring shared planning, clear division of roles, and joint scenario management….  Israeli sources say this planning differs from past concepts in which Israel would lead initial strikes. This time, if executed, the U.S. would lead the operation with its full military weight, while Israel would operate as a strategic partner within the broader campaign (Open Source).

Deployment of Thaad System Indicates Likelihood of Military Action

The bolstering of the air defenses is not cheap and not something we’d be doing if we just wanted a show of force. Wall Street Journal: The military already has air defenses in the region, including destroyers capable of shooting down aerial threats. But the Pentagon is deploying an additional Thaad battery and Patriot air defenses to bases where U.S. troops are stationed across the Middle East, including Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, according to defense officials, flight tracking data and satellite imagery. Thaads can intercept ballistic missiles above the Earth’s atmosphere, while Patriots defend against lower-altitude, shorter-range threats…. The Thaad deployment is a particularly strong sign that the U.S. is preparing for a potential conflict, since the U.S. has only seven operational batteries, and the units have been stretched thin over the past year. “It is expensive to move Patriots and THAADs. The probability that they’re going to be used starts to go up” with this much movement, said Seth Jones, a former Defense Department official (Wall Street Journal).

Iranian Leaders Fear Strike Would Break Their Grip on Power

May the mullahs’ days in power, indeed, be few. Jerusalem Post: Iran’s leadership is increasingly worried a US strike could break its grip on power by driving an already enraged public back onto the streets, following a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests, according to six current and former officials. In high-level meetings, officials told Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that public anger over last month’s crackdown, the bloodiest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, has reached a point where fear is no longer a deterrent, four current officials briefed on the discussions said (Jerusalem Post).

Trump Announces Trade Deal With India; Modi Agrees to End Russian Oil Imports

The ending of Russian oil imports would be particularly significant; yes, even huge. Trump on his phone meeting with India Prime Minister Modi: We spoke about many things, including Trade, and ending the War with Russia and Ukraine. He agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week! Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18% (Truth). Ed Morrissey: If India has indeed halted the importation of Russian oil, that would deal a body blow to Vladimir Putin’s war effort. Both India and China had reportedly begun to pull back from Russian energy when Trump announced his 25% excess tariffs on countries that traded with Russian customers, although that didn’t necessarily stop that trade. Trump began pushing Narendra Modi on Russian oil sales last summer, and threatened to escalate the penalty two weeks ago tp 500%. Modi sent out a statement on X that celebrated the new agreement at the 18% reciprocal tariff level. Modi didn’t mention the part about finding new sources for energy…. Modi didn’t confirm it. He also didn’t deny it (Hot Air).

California Fraud Coming Under Growing Scrutiny; ‘Eighteen percent of the whole country's home health care billing is coming out of Los Angeles County’

With a ton of suspicious activity in the home health care business. Catherine Salgado of PJ Media: Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Mehmet Oz, told the press, “You’ve got hospice that’s grown seven-fold in the last five years. They represent about three and a half billion dollars of fraud, we believe, just in L.A. County.” Just think of that cost to U.S. taxpayers from only one county in California. Who knows how many other counties in California, let alone across the country, are also guilty of major fraud of this type? Ghost patients, shell companies, and shady locations are all part of the fraud Oz highlighted. He asked, “Eighteen percent of the whole country’s home health care billing is coming out of Los Angeles County. How is that possible?” The high likelihood is that the increase in hospice healthcare is a fraud scam like the Somali daycare scam in Minnesota…. Los Angeles has 1,923 hospice providers, which surpasses the total from 36 other states combined, according to The Post Millennial and Fox. Quite a few fraudsters have learned how to bribe elderly people into giving up their Medicare numbers in exchange for free stuff like walkers. Then fake providers buy the numbers for $1,000-$3,000 apiece (PJ Media). At the root of it all is the fact that California is a one-party state: “There is no shared responsibility here for Republicans,” [Dan Schnur, who teaches political communications at USC and UC Berkeley] said. “If you had a state in which Republicans were actually competitive, they would bear some responsibility for these problems” (LA Times). Benny Johnson: Our team was able to uncover $100 million in fraud in California in one day. But the truth is much darker than that. California is using these federal dollars to rig national elections (Johnson).

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul Vows to Block ICE

She wants to pass a law prohibiting the counties in New York that want to cooperate with ICE. Hochul on Morning Joe: You’re not using our local police. I need them to protect the communities and not have this distrust. And this is what we’re hearing—that people are not distinguishing between local police. And we try so hard here to have a positive relationship with our communities of trust. And I want my police going after the murders, the rapists, the gun traffickers being available for emergencies. And if they’re off, they’re being deputized by ice under these agreements that just a few of our counties are doing, they’re being distracted. And I do not want that, and I’m not going to be supporting that. And we’re going to change the law in the state of New York (Daugherty). Amy Curtis at Townhall: New York Governor Kathy Hochul is taking Tim Walz’s route and vowing to block New York law enforcement from cooperating with ICE. We all saw how that played out in Minneapolis, but Democrats seem eager to spread the chaos across the country (Townhall).

Euthanasia Laws Spreading Across US

“Aid in Dying” has never been more popular. New York is the next on the list where Kathy Hochul is expected to sign a euthanasia bill in coming days: It isn’t about shortening life — it is about shortening death (Hochul). Economist looks at the trend: In 2025 Delaware and Illinois approved assisted-dying laws. By the end of the year more than 30% of Americans will live in states where doctors can prescribe a fatal medication to terminally ill patients…. Slightly more than half of Americans believe that assisted suicide is morally acceptable. This share grows to two-thirds if the patient is in severe pain, has no chance of recovery and is asking for help to die. Death with Dignity expects assisted-dying bills to be considered in 13 states this year. They are most likely to pass in Virginia, Maryland and Massachusetts. The campaign for assisted dying “requires patience and persistence”, says Ms Carey. “Unfortunately, many terminally ill patients do not have the luxury of time” (Economist). It’s not surprising but still notable that the Economist did not interview a single person who had concerns about what the trend means and what other arenas of our political life will be impacted as we are increasing comfortable with ending human life.

Demography and Voter Migration Patterns Not Looking Good for Democrats

It’s not clear whether these changes could/would impact 2026 midterms—but the longer trajectory is pretty interesting. Matt Margolis of PJ Media looks at a report from CNN’s Harry Enten: “Look, in politics, we often lose sight of the long term because we’re so focused in on the short term,” he said. “So today I wanted to take a look at some long-term population trends that really should set off a flashing red siren to Democrats nationwide, while bringing a big smile to the faces of Republicans nationwide.” Enten launched into what might be the most brutal wake-up call for the left CNN has ever aired. “According to the latest population estimates that take into account the population mid-2025, the biggest population growth this decade — all five of the states, states that Donald John Trump won. Donald John Trump won in 2024 — Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, and of course, the great State of Arizona, where I spent my New Year’s Eve.” Then came the gut punch for the Democrats. “These were the biggest gainers,” he said. “We’re looking at a red state boom here. But it is not just a red state boom. We’re also looking at what I would dare call a blue-state depression.” … Then came the bomb: “If all of a sudden, we, in fact, have applying the 2025 estimates, the population estimates to the Electoral College, the blue states, plus the blue wall of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin would no longer be enough,” Enten said flatly. “Under the current estimates, you get to exactly 270 electoral votes, the minimum needed to win the Electoral College. If, in fact, you apply the 2025 estimates, look at that — you would only get to 263 electoral votes if you were a Democrat, which would mean a Republican victory” (PJ Media).