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“When a federal judge shot down a Trump administration policy of holding immigrants without bond last December, it seemed like a serious blow to the US president’s mass deportation effort,” The Guardian told us about a week ago. “Instead, a top justice department official insisted the ruling wasn’t binding, and the administration continued denying detainees around the country a chance for release.” That case, The Guardian claims, illustrates a “broader pattern by the US government’s executive branch,” which is now openly defying orders from the lower courts. The Trump administration, it seems, is learning. Instead of pretending things are a-okay and hunky-dory with the three branches of government—executive, legislative, judicial—

On Sunday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran has offered to export and dilute some of its enriched uranium and to pause enrichment for a period of less than 20 years. Probably the proposed period is 15 years. At the start of this month, anonymous Iranians told Al Jazeera that Iran is offering to pause enrichment for “up to 15 years.” This was a concession: Iran had previously offered to pause for five years. But the US should stick to its insistence that Iran should give up its nuclear program entirely (as Israel urges). Iran has no civilian need for a nuclear program.

Both the Japanese and German models, then, had real achievements. Both produced world-class companies and generated admiration. Both, however, also concealed the same poison: the gradual conversion of the private company into a social institution whose first duty is no longer to create value, but to preserve existing arrangements. A zombie firm protects existing employees, managers, lenders and suppliers. It also occupies labor, capital, land, credit and attention that could have gone to new companies, new technologies and new workers. It saves the visible job today by preventing the invisible job tomorrow. The company ceases to be a vehicle for creating successful products for the marketplace.

Why does America have elected officials? If a visiting alien were introduced to the Democratic Party and asked that question, he’d surely say the purpose is to accumulate, consolidate, and hold power. This is the state of that party in 2026. Of course, this is not a new development. The Democratic Party has been moving from a traditional political group (with a long history of proposing poor ideas) to a mob that wants to rule over the country rather than represent voters, defend the Constitution, and uphold the rule of law.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called the nuclear phaseout a “serious strategic mistake” that left Germany short of firm power that turned the Energiewende into the most expensive energy transition on the planet. This is an early marker for a developing worldwide retreat from policies that sidelined nuclear power and demonized coal, oil, and natural gas. Germany stubbornly closed its last three functioning nuclear reactors in April 2023 right in the middle of a crippling energy crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine. As pragmatists predicted, German citizens now suffer under punishingly high electricity prices and remain heavily dependent on imported energy.

The Trump administration's latest sanctions, targeting Cuba's military-controlled conglomerate GAESA and related entities like Moa Nickel, mark a clear-eyed effort to disrupt the regime's financial lifelines. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has defended the move by highlighting how these operations funnel resources away from ordinary Cubans and into the pockets of the ruling elite. While critics decry any pressure on Havana as harsh, the reality is more straightforward: Decades of engagement have failed to loosen the Communist Party's grip, while the Cuban people continue to endure shortages and repression. GAESA operates as the economic engine of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, controlling key sectors from tourism to retail and finance.

May 4 Wall Street Journal editorial argues that the single biggest problem in state governance is the “political dominance of public-sector unions.” These include the SEIU, AFSCME, and, notably, the teachers’ unions. But now, several red states are pursuing reforms to curb their influence and give taxpayers a much-needed break. In Idaho, Gov. Brad Little recently signed a bill that will end public support for teachers’ unions. The new law will prohibit school districts from deducting dues directly from teachers’ paychecks and will limit unions’ ability to recruit members during school hours.

As Donald Trump prepares for another high-stakes meeting with Xi Jinping, conventional wisdom in Washington and the international press insists that the American president is entering negotiations from a position of weakness. Xi, after all, rules China as a near-absolute leader with no election to fear, no opposition party to challenge him, and a state apparatus capable of moving swiftly and decisively. Trump, by contrast, faces elections, court challenges, media scrutiny, and political resistance at every turn. As Sen. Jack Reed, a leading Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in an interview with Shannon Bream on Fox News Sunday,

I've been very critical of the Trump administration and its schizophrenic Second Amendment record. On one hand, we've gotten dozens of new rules for the ATF, almost all of which are outstanding for gun owners to some degree or another. We've had the Civil Rights division of the DOJ go after state and local governments for unconstitutional gun control laws. The flip side, though, is that they've also defended some terrible federal regulations. It's enough to give you whiplash, and a lot of Second Amendment advocates are very down on the administration because of it. I know, because I'm one of them.

Los Angeles is a broken city, facing huge problems made worse by corrupt politicians. It is overrun by homelessness, crime, blight, and the horrifying aftermath of the 2025 Palisades fire. In several weeks, Los Angeles voters will elect a new mayor. One candidate, former reality television star Spencer Pratt, is making a huge splash. He was previously known for his starring role on the MTV show The Hills from 2006 to 2010. He lost his house, along with his parents, in the Palisades fire. Unlike two of his opponents in the race, incumbent Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmember Nithya Raman, who live in mansions,

I suspect a severe lesson is about to be incoming for the Iranian regime after their actions on Sunday.It appears to have been hit near Qatar. That ship is owned by a New Jersey-headquartered company. There was also a report of a ship being hit near Qatar.The regime was also busy attacking its neighbors again, firing drones at Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). There's been a response from the regime on negotiations.But if it isn't about completely giving up their uranium and enrichment, and about ensuring free movement through the Strait of Hormuz, it's a non-starter.

Ted Turner, the yachtsman, media mogul, and environmental philanthropist, died this past week at the age of 87. He left behind five children, three ex-wives, a fortune of almost $3 billion, and a “conservative” legacy that would make Bill Buckley and Ronald Reagan blush. Now, to be clear, Turner was an avowed liberal. He supported left-wing political and social causes for much of his adult life. He was adamantly and vocally pro-choice. He funded anti-war and anti-nuclear organizations that challenged American global authority.