News of the Week for April 19th, 2026
- 2026 Election
- Abortion
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Socialized Medicine
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
2026 Election
As Iran war drags on, midterm forecasts for Republicans get even worse
Republicans always expected the 2026 elections would be tough. Then the U.S. went to war with Iran. Gas prices — one of President Donald Trump’s favorite metrics — shot up, fanning economic anxiety just as Republicans were hoping to focus on Americans’ tax breaks and refunds. Analysts say costs could stay elevated well into the year even if the war ends soon.
Swalwell Suspends His Campaign For California Governor
“These allegations of sexual assault are flat false. They are absolutely false. They did not happen. They have never happened, and I will fight them…”
Eric Swalwell Slinks Out of the California Governor’s Race
Democratic Representative Eric Swalwell suspends his campaign for governor of California, but he deserves a lot worse. You can’t blame Vice President JD Vance for not reaching a deal with the Iranian regime in the peace talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, but there are fair questions of why we’re even trying to talk peace with an intransigent regime with nuclear ambitions that chants “death to America.” Meanwhile, the era of Viktor Orbán comes to an end in Hungary.
New Mexico Rep. Rebecca Dow, seeking reelection, is removed from GOP primary ballot
A Republican lawmaker seeking a fifth term in the state House of Representatives has been booted from the ballot by her political nemesis ahead of the June 2 primary election.
Eric Swalwell Announces Resignation from Congress amid Sexual Misconduct Allegations
Representative Eric Swalwell (D., Calif.) on Monday announced his resignation from Congress after four women, including a former staffer, came forward with sexual misconduct allegations against him.
Democrats gaining ground, key races tighten in Florida as Donald Trump drags GOP
Independent voters are breaking sharply toward Democrats, a shift pollsters say could reshape Florida’s political map after years of Republican dominance.
Tony Gonzales announces plans to quit Congress early
Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas.) said he would seek to leave Congress early Tuesday amid allegations of sexual misconduct.
Trump’s Endorsement, Not Quite the Final Word in the California GOP Primary
The dominant narrative for most of the past decade that a Trump endorsement just about guarantees a Republican will win his primary, and that crossing the president is a political death sentence for most GOP lawmakers. And so far, that remains generally true.
Mark Sanford Has Impeccable Timing
Eric Swalwell has retired from both the California gubernatorial race as well as Congress — may he enjoy whatever upcoming court proceedings await him, be they civil or criminal — and this is good news for everyone except the California Republican Party and me, personally. Why me? Because the gears of the Carnival of Fools are greased with the oil of corruption and vanity, and we always suffer when we lose a reliable fount of such perverted hubris. Already this electoral season has seen a brutal cull of some of my favorite freaks: Marjorie Taylor Greene, Andrew Cuomo, Jasmine Crockett, and Kristi Noem have all seen their political careers end in entertainingly varied ways, like a Final Destination film. (How time flies: It seems like only last week that Jamaal Bowman was defenestrated by his angry constituents, but it’s been nearly two years.)
Trump Created Fake ‘Shield’ Job to Keep Noem Away From Senate Run
Sources say the ousted homeland security secretary’s shiny new “Shield of the Americas” gig was invented to “put her out to the glue factory” after she was deemed politically toxic.
Trump Allies Promised to Make Anti-Redistricting Indiana Republicans Pay. Will They Be Able To?
Indiana state senators were warned by MAGA forces last year that opposing a Trump-backed mid-decade gerrymander for unified GOP control would come at a steep political cost. Now the time has come for Trump-aligned forces to prove they still have the influence to make good on their threats.
This Bernie Sanders-backed idea is connecting Democrats winning midterm primaries
Single payer is getting a second wind. Replacing private health insurance with a universal coverage system funded and run solely by the federal government has long been a priority for the Democratic Party’s left wing. But the push for a single-payer plan, also known as Medicare for All, appeared to be on life support among Democrats after its leading advocates, Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, struggled to defend the idea during the party’s 2020 presidential primaries. Under President Joe Biden, a single-payer skeptic, Democrats focused instead on substantially expanding health coverage through the Affordable Care Act.
Progressive Lawmakers Launch Affordability Listening Tour in Battleground States
A Democratic donor network and members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus will hold small-group sessions with voters in Las Vegas, Houston and Phoenix to hear about rising costs and shape their election message.
State Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy withdraws from Eastern District House primary amid ‘allegations of serious sexual abuse’
Primary competitor and attorney Brian Miller is representing a Pennsylvania woman who alleges Windy Boy propositioned her underage daughter and niece in the early 2000s.
Abortion
Court Cases & Legislation
Bioethicists Argue That an Unborn Baby Is Merely a ‘Gestator’s’ Body Part
Anyone paying attention knows that the medical establishment does not believe in any restriction on abortion, and moreover, that it should be provided free anytime a woman wants to terminate a pregnancy. For example, a current editorial in The Lancet celebrates the editors’ view that more than 800 million women recently gaining better access to abortion, while decrying “barriers” such as waiting periods (and unstated, ultrasound imaging) that data shows, save the lives of unborn babies
Gun Rights
Data Breach Exposing French Gun Owners a Warning to America
Anytime there’s a list of anything, there are going to be people who want to view that list for whatever reason. As we are firmly in the 21st century, that list is going to be digital more often than not, and that means the number of people who want to get that data increases exponentially. Especially when it’s something like a gun registry.
DOJ Reverses Course on Defending Biden’s ‘Engaged in the Business’ Rule for Gun Sales
Gun Owners of America is celebrating a win in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals after the Department of Justice abruptly reversed course in a lawsuit challenging the ATF’s expanded definition of who is “engaged in the business” of dealing firearms that was put into effect under the Biden administration and then-ATF Director Steve Dettelbach.
The Gun Debate Hasn’t Changed in 500 Years
Guns disrupted the established order—and sparked modern-sounding debates over whether they could be effectively regulated.
Hide the Decline
Environment &“Green Energy”
Europe Has Plenty of Oil, It Just Doesn’t Want to Use It
The headline from the Associated Press – “Europe has ‘maybe 6 weeks of jet fuel left,’ energy agency head warns” — sounds pretty darn ominous.
Court unanimously sides with oil and gas companies in suit over damage to Louisiana coast
The Supreme Court on Friday sent a lawsuit seeking to hold oil and gas companies liable for damage to the Louisiana coast back to the federal courts. Several Louisiana parishes – the equivalent of counties in that state – had filed the lawsuit in state court, and in 2024 a federal appeals court in New Orleans rebuffed the companies’ latest effort to move the case to federal court. By a vote of 8-0 in Chevron USA Inc. v. Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, with Justice Samuel Alito not participating because he owns stock in the parent company of one of the defendants in the case, the justices on Friday morning threw out the appeals court’s decision.
Will the Eleventh Circuit Allow the Endangered Species Act to Commandeer the Florida Department of Environmental Protection?
A pending case will test whether courts are willing to enforce the anticommandeering doctrine in the context of environmental protection.
Leaked Supreme Court Memos Reveal Why Court Stayed Clean Power Plan (Setting Important “Shadow Docket” Precedent in the Process)
A New York Times scoop reveals that Chief Justice Roberts was concerned that the EPA would (again) get away with imposing unlawful burdens on utilities.
Socialized Medicine
Government in Healthcare
At Last! A Fair Shake for Terri Schiavo’s Brother in the New York Times
My friend Bobby Schindler, the late Terri Schiavo’s brother, is one of the most kind, decent, and humble people I know. And yet, because he dared to stand up for the inherent value of his sister’s life and against the injustice of her court-ordered dehydration — and has continued to fight on behalf of brain-injured people and their families — journalists and bioethicists often look down their noses at him as someone just beyond the pale of sophisticated society.
Psychiatrist says patients with eating disorders and depression could be considered for MAiD
One psychiatrist, has deemed eating disorders and depression to be worthy of “a grievous and irremediable medical condition” qualifying someone for MAiD.
War & Terror
Ukraine confirms rocket launches into space during wartime
Ukraine’s GUR conducted two wartime rocket launches into space, reaching altitudes of over 100 km and 204 km, officially recorded by technical means. GUR also launched a rocket carrier from a transport aircraft at 8,000 meters altitude, described as a first for Europe and second in world history.
Barbed Wire Going Up Around the Chinese Embassy.
As my friend Emily says: “What do they know that we don’t?!?!”
Russia plans to put nuclear weapons in orbit for ‘space Pearl Harbor’
General Stephen Whiting, the head of US Space Command, says the Kremlin could cause mayhem by interfering with civilian aircraft and satellites
The Arms Rush Continues
This process rolls along. Euractiv is reporting that Italy and Ukraine are looking into joint drone production. Meanwhile, Breaking Defense reports that Germany’s Rheinmetall and the Netherlands’ Destinus have announced plans to form a joint venture focused “on advanced missile systems, including cruise missiles and ballistic rocket artillery.”
Iran war latest: Trump reacts – and oil and gas prices tumble – after Iran reopens Strait of Hormuz
Keir Starmer is in Paris for a meeting about the Strait of Hormuz. But Iran appears to have declared the waterway is “open” – with Donald Trump reacting enthusiastically. In Lebanon, a 10-day ceasefire is in effect, but Israel has been accused of breaking it. Follow live.
Pentagon ramps up plans for military operation in Cuba in case Trump orders direct intervention: report
Earlier this week, Trump said ‘we may stop by Cuba’ after the Iran war is resolved
Concern Grows Over 10 Missing or Deceased NASA, Nuclear, and Defense Researchers
Trump: “Well, I hope it’s random, but we’re going to know in the next week and a half. I just left a meeting on that subject. So, pretty serious stuff.”
U.S. considers $20 billion cash-for-uranium deal with Iran
The U.S. and Iran are negotiating over a three-page plan to end the war, with one element under discussion being that the U.S. would release $20 billion in frozen Iranian funds in return for Iran giving up its stockpile of enriched uranium, according to two U.S. officials and two additional sources briefed on the talks.
U.S. considers $20 billion cash-for-uranium deal with Iran
The U.S. and Iran are negotiating over a three-page plan to end the war, with one element under discussion being that the U.S. would release $20 billion in frozen Iranian funds in return for Iran giving up its stockpile of enriched uranium, according to two U.S. officials and two additional sources briefed on the talks.
A False Dawn in the Strait of Hormuz
Global energy prices collapsed on Friday morning following an announcement from Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi that “passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz” is now “completely open.”
As I Was Saying About the Strait . . .
It kind of seems like Iran still controls the Strait of Hormuz.
National
Incoming Las Vegas chief judge details stance on bail, sentencing
The new chief judge will take the helm of the Clark County District Court on July 1, and a new court administrator, a new public information officer and a new jury commissioner will join her in leading Nevada’s largest court, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned.
Conservatives Blast Trump For Christ-Like Image, Losing His Mind Over Pope
A wide range of prominent conservatives excoriated President Donald Trump for posting a 334-word tirade against Pope Leo XIV to social media late Sunday and following it up with an image appearing to depict him dressed as Jesus healing a sick man.
Sid Krofft, Co-Creator of Land of the Lost and H.R. Pufnstuf, Dies at Home (Exclusive)
He “taught me more than I could ever put into words” partner Kelly Killian says
The Caves That Could Help Us Find, or Become, Aliens
From lava tubes on Mars to ice pockets on Europa, subterranean environments may offer the best chance of finding life—and living safely—beyond our planet.
Virginia Ex-Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax Kills Wife and Self, Police Say
Mr. Fairfax, a Democrat, served as lieutenant governor from 2018 to 2022.
RFK Jr.’s List of Hobbies Grows Ever More Fascinating
A brief note from the land of lunacy, because frankly I worry about being typecast. I like to tell myself that I was meant for more in my professional life than to be a mere chronicler of RFK Jr. animal stories, and yet the current secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services keeps popping up with one crazy one after another. First there was the decade-old mystery of the Central Park Roadkill Bear, finally solved after years with a videotaped confession by RFK — to Roseanne Barr of all people. Then there was RFK’s whale of a tale, about which I can only say: If you haven’t read the story already, then click.
RFK Jr. once chopped off a dead raccoon’s penis to ‘study later’ while on a family road trip
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an avid animal genitalia researcher in his spare time, once pulled the family sedan to the side of the road after spying a dead raccoon and swiftly cut off its sex organs so he could “study them later.”
The Biden DOJ’s FACE Act Prosecutions Were Worse Than We Thought
For years, those of us who followed the Biden Justice Department’s enforcement of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act knew something was deeply wrong. We knew that administration enforced the statute disproportionately and unjustly against pro-life activists and people of faith. Pro-lifers—many of them peaceful sidewalk counselors, elderly nuns, and fathers praying the rosary outside abortion clinics—were being hauled into federal court while attacks on pregnancy resource centers went essentially uninvestigated.
Short Circuit: An inexhaustive weekly compendium of rulings from the federal courts of appeal
ICE, AirPods, and the No Fly List
Republican Lawmaker Says Trump ‘Almost A Second Coming’ Of Jesus
A Republican lawmaker on Friday referred to President Donald Trump as ‘almost a second coming’ of Christ as the Trump administration finds itself embroiled in religious scandal amid an ongoing feud with the pope and the posting of AI generated photos that have been slammed as “blasphemous.”
Brandon Johnson Focuses on Chicago’s Real Issue: Slavery
So what can you do about a problem like Brandon except wait him out? What, save sit through the Windy City mayoralty of one of the stupidest and most incompetent politicians to ever draw breath, and wait to see whether whoever replaces him is worse? Readers are free to peruse my back catalogue — you can even find the February 2023 piece where I dismissed his possibility of even making that year’s mayoral runoff if you really wish to dunk on me — but even back then Johnson’s manifest unfitness for the job was apparent. He was a purebred creature of the Chicago Teachers’ Union, their paid lobbyist for years, a man whose governing priorities (goal No. 1: pay off the CTU, Chicago’s most infamous mob since Eliot Ness took down the Mafia) were so obvious that I failed at first to consider the possibility that he’d make it to the mayoral runoff, much less eke out a victory against wounded horse Paul Vallas.
Checking in on Trump’s Cabinet Shuffle
The January 30 edition of the Morning Jolt looked at Trump’s cabinet and pointed to five figures as particular underperformers or liabilities: then-Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, then-attorney general Pam Bondi, director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.. Regarding the attorney general, I wrote, “Every DOJ has problems and controversies; what stands out about Bondi’s tenure is how foreseeable they are, and yet she seems to step into them anyway.”
Economy & Taxes
US wholesale prices surged 4% last month after the war in Iran sent energy prices soaring
The Labor Department reported Tuesday that its producer price index — which measures inflation before it hits consumers — rose 0.5% from February and 4% from March 2025. The year-over-year gains was the biggest in more than three years. Energy prices surged 8.5% from February.
Oil supply crunch intensifies as last Hormuz tankers reach refineries
Final prewar cargoes to leave Gulf set to unload in coming days, escalating a global rush to secure barrels
Why Your Taxes Are Never Enough for the Federal Government
Your federal taxes were due yesterday, so I hope you either paid them or filed for an extension. Each month, the U.S. government takes in about $413 billion from income taxes, corporate taxes, Social Security taxes, estate and gift taxes, tariffs and customs duties, and a couple of other sources.
Mamdani’s Socialist Delusion
In an appearance on CBS Mornings on Thursday, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani articulated a Marxian version of dialectical materialism in which democratic socialism finally crushes its capitalist detractors.
More Americans are buying groceries using buy now, pay later: Survey
Americans are increasingly using buy now, pay later (BNPL) for everyday expenses like groceries, and many rely on the loans to make ends meet, a new survey finds.
Trump administration set to launch tariff refund portal. Here’s what to know.
The U.S. government is set to launch an online portal next week that lets businesses request refunds for tariffs deemed illegal by the Supreme Court. But payouts won’t be automatic, and legal experts said businesses could face other obstacles getting their money back.
Are Foreigners and Outsiders Stealing Our Housing?
Are foreigners and other outsiders stealing our housing? That seems to be yet another growing area of agreement between the populist right and the populist left. JD Vance has been arguing for some time that illegal immigration, simply by increasing the population, drives up housing costs: “A lot of young people are saying, housing is way too expensive. Why is that? Because we flooded the country with 30 million illegal immigrants who were taking houses that ought by right go to American citizens,” Vance told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on November 13, 2025. “And at the same time we weren’t building enough new houses to begin with even for the population that we had.” He’s still touting as well the notion that the effective supply of housing will be increased by banning institutional investors from buying homes — a cause championed by Elizabeth Warren.
Trump Administration Presents Update on its Tariff Refund Plan
The plan is not completely terrible. But many importers may still have difficulty getting the refund money owed to them.
Prices Controls Will Deny Millions of Americans Credit Cards
There’s a famous scene in the movie “The Graduate” in which a young Dustin Hoffman receives this one-word bit of career advice from a businessman: “plastics.”
Mamdani’s Socialist Super, Super, Supermarkets
One of the reasons why free enterprise works so well is (apologies, this is basic stuff) because of the discipline provided by the need to earn a return on the money invested. It follows that the higher the cost of that money, the higher the return that will need to be earned upon it to make the venture worthwhile. Reduce the cost of that capital to zero by providing it out of taxpayer funds, which as we all “know” are free, and that discipline disappears, even more so when there is not even a nominal requirement to make money.
International
Viktor Orbán concedes defeat as Hungary’s Tisza Party heads for election win
With roughly 45% of the ballots tallied Sunday night, Tisza is projected to win 135 seats out of 199 in the Hungarian legislature.
Trump ally Orbán sees government fall despite Vance visit
In one of Europe’s most consequential elections of the year, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has conceded to the party led by Péter Magyar, ending his run as Hungary’s leader after more than 16 years.
Orban congratulates challenger Magyar as Tisza heads for election victory in Hungary
With 53.45% of votes counted, projections showed Tisza winning 136 seats in Hungary’s 199-member parliament, compared with 56 seats for Orban’s nationalist Fidesz party
I have no fear of Trump, says Pope after attacks and AI ‘Jesus’ image
President Trump has posted an AI-generated image seemingly depicting himself as Jesus Christ as he attacked the Pope for not supporting his war in Iran.
The EU and Propaganda
The post-democrats of Brussels are, along with many European governments, very keen on online censorship. Free speech is not a “European value.” The flip side of censorship is propaganda, which can be direct or (through funding this or not funding that) indirect.
Brussels launched an age checking app. Hackers say it takes 2 minutes to break it.
Cyber experts say they have found holes in Brussels’ age verification app, despite claims by the EU executive that it is “technically ready.”
The Kids Are Alright in Australia, No Thanks to the Social Media Ban
At the end of last year, the Australian government banned minors from having social media accounts. The law required a broad range of platforms to “take reasonable steps” to prevent minors from opening or keeping their accounts, including a range of age-assurance and verification requirements.
Opinion
The Wild Weekend
The President seems to want a Pope who worships at the altar of Trump, which is not the job of the Pope. I may be a Protestant, but I understand enough to know the Pope is not just the temporal leader of a sovereign nation, he’s also the spiritual leader of more than a billion people, including quite a few Trump supporters, among them the Vice President of the United States.
Hungary’s Daydream Believers
Viktor Orbán’s electoral drubbing illustrates the dangers of American political fantasies about other countries.
The Sycophantic Permission Structure of Doom
The President posted blasphemy — a picture of himself as Jesus Christ. Evangelical Christians recognized it and called it out. The President deleted it.
Presidential libraries, or monuments to our leaders’ egomania?
What started as places to store presidential papers for historians have turned into flashy personal museums.
President Trump’s Self-Inflicted Divine Mess
On the menu today: Two things worth following — Jesus Christ, and the economy.
The Futility of Arguing About Trump
After ten years, there’s little worth saying about Trump’s character — but much still to be said about policies and results.
Let Congress Sue over Abuses of Executive Power
Beginning 2025, the Democracy Project at NYU Law School produced a series of essays by legal analysts and commentators from across the political and ideological spectra on how to preserve democracy, to which I made a contribution titled, “Bring Back Congress.” The Democracy Project is now producing a follow up series that asks, simply, “What’s Next?” Continuing on my theme of reinvigorating the vital role — the constitutional duty — of Congress to rein in executive excess, I’ve contributed a piece called, “Let Congress Sue Over Abuses of Executive Power,” which appears on the project’s website today (where the excellent contributions of other writers are also accessible).
Political Violence Apart from Theories of Power
Over at Compact, Leighton Woodhouse has a fascinating review essay looking at the extremisms of the 1990s in America, and he comes to the conclusion that political violence has lost any connection to political aims or a theory of political change.
A Sickness Spreads
After the assassination of Charlie Kirk, podcaster Candace Owens turned her wrath on Mr. Kirk’s widow, Erika. Owens began perpetuating conspiracy theories about Mrs. Kirk with a heavy implication that Mrs. Kirk was somehow tied to Israel, which itself was tied to Mr. Kirk’s assassination.
How the Friend-Enemy Distinction Poisons Politics
Carl Schmitt captured the essence of totalitarian politics in his book The Concept of the Political (1932). It is the distinction between friend and enemy. The poison of this kind of thinking is in the ugly fact that the declared enemy must be treated as the declared enemy once a political faction has declared one, and anyone who doesn’t go along with that declaration declares himself one of the enemy. That is, it’s not just the us-versus-them nature of the declaration of friend and enemy that poisons politics and societies; it’s the logic of the friend-enemy political program entirely. Host James Lindsay explains this dangerous logic in this new episode of New Discourses Bullets. Join him to understand.
The ‘Parents Decide Act’ Will Dox You to Every Website
A new bill in Congress is called the “Parents Decide Act”. It is yet another child safety bill that is designed to compromise your privacy.
A Memo to Reform-Minded Campus Leaders
Why it’s so tough to reform colleges … and tips that might help.
America’s 250th Is a Time for Truth
This year is one of special significance for both our country and National Review. For this institution, it is a year of growth and renewal; for the nation, it is a year in which we celebrate the moment, 250 years ago, when the truth that all men “are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights” was proclaimed as the foundation of a new republic. From that proposition came the greatest nation in human history.
The Cautionary Tale of Justin Fairfax
On the menu today: Greetings from sunny Miami, Fla., where last night I hosted a Burke to Buckley fellowship session of the National Review Institute — you can learn more about the program here — and today I’ll be at an NRI regional seminar, interviewing former Governor Jeb Bush, discussing fiscal conservatism, limited government, and what Florida has gotten right that so many other states have gotten wrong.
Virginia’s Unconstitutional Effort to Strip Property Tax Exemptions From Pro-Confederate Groups
The groups and their ideology are awful. But Virginia’s policy violates the First Amendment. Allowing it to stand could set a dangerous precedent.
