Netanyahu Visits DC as US Continues Dialogue With Iran

Bibi has very good reason to be distrustful of Iran at any negotiating table. Wall Street Journal: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is making an urgent trip to Washington, as concern grows in Israel that the U.S. and Iran could agree to a nuclear deal that falls short of its requirements for ending the threat from Tehran. The Israeli leader had weighed a trip to visit President Trump next week amid tensions with Iran and challenges with Trump’s Gaza peace plan. But with U.S.-Iran talks that began last week in Oman set to continue, Israel has grown concerned the U.S. could compromise on points it considers crucial, and Netanyahu decided to leave for Washington on Tuesday…. Beyond the specific negotiating points, Israeli officials said Netanyahu will make the case to Trump when they meet Wednesday that Iran could renege later on any agreements it makes now while under pressure from a cratering economy, civil unrest and the U.S. military. “One of the main messages Netanyahu will bring to Trump is that there’s no value to negotiations with Iran. Iran has not followed through on any of its commitments,” Eli Cohen, a senior minister in Netanyahu’s Likud party, told Israel’s Army Radio on Monday. “The main thing is changing the terror regime in Iran” (Wall Street Journal). Mossad Commentary: If travel proceeds as planned, the next few days may remain relatively quiet on the security front as diplomacy takes center stage. The real question is what comes out of these meetings (Mossad).

Trump Weighs Sending Another Aircraft Carrier to Middle East

As negotiations continue. Axios: President Trump told Axios in an interview on Tuesday that he’s considering sending a second aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East to prepare for military action if negotiations with Iran fail. The U.S. and Iran resumed negotiations last Friday in Oman for the first time since the 12-day war in June, but Trump has simultaneously launched a massive military buildup in the Gulf. “Either we will make a deal or we will have to do something very tough like last time,” Trump told Axios…. “We have an armada that is heading there and another one might be going,” Trump said, adding that he’s “thinking” about sending another aircraft carrier strike group. A U.S. official confirmed that there had been discussions about sending a second aircraft carrier strike group to the region. That’s in addition to the USS Abraham Lincoln and its strike group, which includes fighter jets, Tomahawk missiles and several ships. The U.S. had two carriers in the region during much of the war in Gaza (Axios). Ward Clark at RedState: Two carriers? Well, we’ve got more. But here’s the question: One of our carrier task groups contains more destructive power than Iran ever had. One didn’t seem to sway them much…. We could have a net of total air superiority over Iran within hours, which could prove a big help to the people on the ground – especially if we were identifying any regime-loyal military forces and reducing them to flying spare parts (RedState).

More Islamist Violence in Nigeria: Priest and 10 Parishioners Kidnapped, Three Killed

In just the latest round of terror and violence that the world has little interest in. Catholic Herald: A Catholic priest alongside 10 of his parishioners has been kidnapped in northern Nigeria. During the attack, three parishioners were also killed. The attack took place at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in the Kafanchan Diocese at 3:20am Nigeria time…. Nigerian Christians have faced deadly and severe persecution in recent years. In November last year, more than 300 children and staff from a Catholic school in Niger State were abducted. The abduction reignited tragic memories for the West African country. In 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from Chibok, Borno State, many of whom remain missing, and in 2018, 110 girls were seized in Dapchi, Yobe State (Catholic Herald).

Republican Congressmen Introduce ‘Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026’

Spearheaded by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Africa Subcommittee, and Rep. Riley Moore (R-WV), the effort has garnered early support of House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast (R-FL), House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK), Appropriations Vice Chairman Mario Diaz Balart (R-FL), and Foreign Affairs South and East Asia Subcommittee Chairman Bill Huizenga (R-MI). From Chris Smith: The new Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026 (HR 7457) is expected to move through the House quickly and gain widespread support. President Trump has engaged in the issue extensively and has been leading the global charge to end the systemic religious persecution occurring in Nigeria. “The Nigerian government’s blatant denial of the religious persecution occurring within its borders has only enabled the religious-based violence in the country to fester, with Christian deaths and church attacks reaching unprecedented numbers,” said Rep. Smith, who has chaired 13 congressional hearings on the religious persecution crisis in Nigeria…. “For years, Christians in Nigeria have faced unspeakable violence—churches burned, villages destroyed, families slaughtered—while the global community looked away. As part of the investigation President Trump asked me to lead, I visited Nigeria and witnessed firsthand the horrors our brothers and sisters in Christ face and saw the security challenges Nigeria faces,” stated Rep. Moore…. That is why I am proud to introduce the Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026 with Representative Chris Smith. This legislation makes clear that the United States stands with our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ and seeks to help Nigeria address its many challenges,” he continued (Smith).

Taliban Codifies Slavery and Abuse of Women

This is ‘progress’—Islamist style—if the world continues to look the other way. New York Sun: The Taliban has quietly enacted a sweeping criminal code that explicitly legalizes slavery and authorizes husbands to beat their wives, embedding what legal experts describe as systematic violence into Afghan law. The 119-article Criminal Procedure Code, signed by Taliban supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada on January 7, 2026, formally divides Afghan society into “free persons and slaves,” marking the return of a status absolutely prohibited under international law. “The Taliban has now approved the return of slavery in Afghanistan,” Senator Jim Risch, chairman of the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote on social media…. Beyond legalizing violence against women, the code transforms Afghanistan into a surveillance state where dissent itself is criminal. Insulting Taliban leaders carries 20 lashes and six months’ imprisonment. Criticizing any policy the supreme leader endorses, including the ban on women’s education, is a punishable offense. Citizens are granted the legal right to personally punish anyone they witness committing what they deem a “sin,” effectively deputizing the population as moral enforcers (New York Sun).

NYC Health Department Launches ‘Global Oppression Working Group,’ Accuses Israel of Genocide

Our Speaker of the House Mike Johnson had a nice response: Instead of trying to force a radical-left foreign policy agenda, the bureaucrats in Zohran Mamdani’s Department of Health should focus on delivering the services New Yorkers pay for with their tax dollars (Johnson). New York Post: Employees of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Department of Health have created a “working group” that accuses Israel of committing genocide, The Post has learned. DOH staffers held the first “Global Oppression and Public Health Working Group” meeting Tuesday afternoon — in the middle of the workday — with members gathering at the department’s headquarters in Long Island City, as well as remotely…. A former rep to ex-three term Mayor Mike Bloomberg was stunned that the DOH mission appeared to have veered suddenly from the public health of New Yorkers to foreign policy. “This is shocking. If these NYC Health Department staffers truly believe Israel is committing genocide, will they now boycott the Israeli pharmaceutical companies that make lifesaving drugs New Yorkers depend on?” said Mark Botnick, who is Jewish. “Or is this just performative politics that has no place in a taxpayer-funded public health agency?” said Botnick (New York Post).

Gavin Newsom Spent $450 Million on New 911 System; Now He’s Ditching It

And the FCC wants to know what happened to all the money. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr: In 2019, Governor Newsom promised California that he would fix the state’s failing 911 system. He even spent $450 million to build a new one. But when it came time to turn it on, it did not work. Newsom is now scrapping the plan, the $450M is apparently gone, & he’s going to spend millions more. Meanwhile, Californians remains stuck on the antiquated 911 system due to Governor Newsom’s $450 million 911 scandal. I have written Governor Newsom to get answers, given the FCC’s interest in facilitating transitions to next-gen 911 systems (Carr). New York Post from November: California, a state that prides itself on being the epicenter of technology, has taught an absolute masterclass in bureaucratic incompetence — scrapping a new 911 system that cost more than $450 million in taxpayer money. The staggering sum, which ballooned from initial estimates in 2019, was poured into the “Next Generation 911” project meant to modernize the state’s antiquated 1970’s-era emergency line. Six years later, the state’s emergency services agency (Cal OES) has thrown in the towel, declaring the initial regional design a complete failure (New York Post).

‘Fraud Tourism’ in the Twin Cites: Two Men Plead Guilty to Wire Fraud of $3.5 Million

This what we need to see more of before the midterms: convictions and/or guilty pleas in courts of law, verifying theft of the taxpayers’ dollars. KSTP: Anthony Waddell Jefferson, 37, and Lester Brown, 53, pleaded guilty to wire fraud. Prosecutors said Jefferson could face up to 6.5 years in prison and Brown could face up to four years, but  the sentencing will come at a later date. Prosecutors have said the fines range from $25,000 to $250,000, and restitution totalling $3.5 million is to be paid by both defendants. Jefferson and Brown both registered LLCs in Minnesota in 2022. Jefferson registered as Chozen Runner LLC while Brown registered as Retsel Real Estate LLC. According to the indictment, both were entities that they previously created in Pennsylvania. In total, the two LLCs claimed to help 230 people and received around $3.5 million in Housing Stabilization Services payments (KSTP). Fox News: And what’s most notable about this case … according to the DOJ, this represents the first charges involving the use of artificial intelligence to further a fraud scheme targeting healthcare programs in Minnesota, with the two fraudsters we talked about, concealing the scheme by using AI, including ChatGPT to create fake records when questioned by insurance companies (Daugherty).

UK Labor Officials Press to Delete Court Database in Rape Gangs Scandal

Nothing is so convenient to moral and political scandal as deleting the records. Telegraph reports: The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has ordered Courtsdesk, a data analysis company that supports media and campaigners in monitoring court records, to delete its archive. Critics warned that the move risked covering up future scandals, pointing to the grooming gangs scandal which “exploded once people were able to read the court reports”. Chris Philp, a justice minister at time of Courtsdesk’s approval, authorised the system in 2021 to explore how a “national digital news feed of listings and registers can improve coverage of the courts by the news media”. The platform has since been used by more than 1,500 journalists from 39 media organisations and the information provided has highlighted serious failures in the courts system (Telegraph).

Robert Lowe, Member of Parliament (formerly Reform UK, now independent). Lowe: Britain needs to understand the sophisticated level of coordination between the rape gangs – it goes far deeper than anybody realises. A national crime network, of the most depraved kind. Our inquiry is finding evidence of advanced links between dozens and dozens of towns and cities. This is not simply dispersed groups of savages. This is coordinated, right across the country. The tactics are well rehearsed, and well drilled. They know EXACTLY what they are doing. Nothing is off limits to these people – nothing. And there is ZERO appetite in Westminster or the media to even discuss it. This is all so much worse than anybody knows (Lowe). Elon Musk on the dearth of media coverage: The main way the legacy media lies is by choosing the narrative and simply ignoring that which doesn’t match far-left politics (Musk).

With Midterms on the Horizon, Cash Advantage Goes to GOP

New York Times reports: For the first time in years, Democrats are sounding the alarm about money problems. The Republican National Committee began this year with nearly $100 million more than the Democratic National Committee. The Supreme Court is widely expected to loosen restrictions on party funds in the coming months in a way that could help Republicans take fuller advantage of their fund-raising edge. President Trump is sitting atop a super PAC with more than $304 million — a huge sum for which there is no Democratic counterweight. The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has re-engaged with the Republican Party after his blowup with Mr. Trump last year, donating tens of millions of dollars in the last two months and attending the recent wedding of a top Trump aide at Mar-a-Lago. And Democrats worry that well-funded super PACs tied to the cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence industries, which have cozied up to Mr. Trump, could further fuel a Republican financial edge. All told, new federal records show that the three leading arms of the national Republican Party and the two super PACs aligned with House and Senate Republicans entered this year with more than double the cash of the equivalent Democratic groups. The Republican groups had a combined $320 million, compared with roughly $137.2 million for the Democrats after accounting for debts (New York Times).