A former Missouri House speaker was sentenced Monday to 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud for misusing federal COVID-19 relief funds for his personal benefit. Former Republican House Speaker John Diehl received about $380,000 in federal loans for his law firm between 2020 and 2022 through a program intended to help cover operating expenses for businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic. But Diehl admitted in a September plea agreement that he instead used the money for personal expenses, including country club dues, swimming pool maintenance, his home mortgage and vehicle payments for a Tesla, Audi and Jeep. Prosecutors said he used more than half the money to fund his law firm's defined benefit plan, of which he was the only participant, and also paid off a civil settlement related to his time as state House speaker.
Israel's Smotrich says soldier son wounded after attack near Lebanon Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says shrapnel tore through his son's liver during an attack near the Lebanese border that wounded eight Israeli soldiers. In a post on X, Smotrich said a mortar round was launched towards the soldiers on the Lebanese border on Friday. "One of them is my beloved son " Benya Hebron," he wrote. The far-right Israeli cabinet member said shrapnel "penetrated his back and stomach" and he was rushed to hospital. "By the grace of God, one of the shrapnel tore through his liver and lodged in the wall of the largest blood vessel in his stomach. If, God forbid, it had been damaged the situation would have been much worse," he said. Read more
Rep. Kevin Kiley (CA-3) has quit the republican party and registered as the only independent in the US House. Kiley's district was recently redrawn. He is currently running running for the newly drawn CA-6 as an independent this November. His defection technically changes the partisan balance of the House to 217-GOP, 214-DEM, 1-I though from a practical standpoint it doesn't impact much since Kiley will continue to caucus with the GOP.
The Trump administration has subpoenaed records related to the 2020 election in Arizona's largest county, the state Senate president said Monday, the latest in a series of steps taken by the president to relitigate an election he lost and bolster the federal government's authority over elections.
Amid his war in Iran, President Donald Trump shared a 2007 video from the so-called Christian prophet Kim Clement.
On his Truth Social platform, Trump described the video as "Kim Clement prophesying about Donald Trump, 2007." Read more
The administration's war with Iran is setting a mountain of taxpayer dollars on fire every day"mostly because he doesn't know what he's doing.
Senior foreign affairs editor and former White House correspondent for The Guardian: "The first lesson of war is know your enemy,' and Britain's enemy now is Donald Trump. As the Iran disaster escalates, UK PM Keir Starmer should treat the US president as someone whose actions threaten the lawful, democratic way of life everywhere."
FAFO for the British Monarchy
Bombed boats, dead fishermen, starving children, and broken families reveal the human cost of power without empathy...
This week, tens of thousands of game developers and producers will once again gather in San Francisco, as they have since 1988, for the weeklong Game Developers Conference. But this year's show will be missing many international developers who say they no longer feel comfortable traveling to the United States to attend, no matter how relevant the show is to their work and careers.
The Wall Street Journal found that "the Department of Homeland Security, created in 2002 to protect Americans, has turned its force against citizens." "Of the 279 people accused by officials on X of attacking federal officers in the past year, 181 were U.S. citizens, the Journal found. Close to half of those Americans were never charged with assault. None have been convicted at trial." "Yet names, mug shots and other identifying details posted by the government put a bull's-eye on them. They had to explain the accusations to family, friends and employers. In a few cases, their home and workplace addresses were leaked online, drawing death threats."
Mile-long queues at TSA security checkpoints are exhausting passengers at airports nationwide Monday morning as the partial government shutdown of the fascist Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues.
Another FAFO lesson for the American people
On behalf of Willy Wender Aceituno (46) of Charlotte, NC, the ACLU has filed a $1.25 million federal damages claim against the US government over a November 2025 incident in which ICE agents smashed his car window and slammed him to the ground, even though he was a US citizen.
FAFO
An MS NOW panel called out Donald Trump over his dismissive attitude and response to reports that Vladimir Putin is giving aid to Iran by helping the embattled regime target U.S. troops. On Friday, the president was pressed by Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy on reports that Russia is assisting Iran to attack American military targets, which led Trump to snap, "That's an easy problem compared to what we're doing here, But I - can I be honest? It's just, I have a lot of respect for you. You've always been very nice to me. What a stupid question that is to be asking at this time. We're talking about something else." "I think there are a couple of things we can say this morning that really do put it all in perfect perspective of how strange things have become," he added, "Number one, the Russians helped the Iranians target Americans to kill them. And the administration, including the president, says it doesn't matter. We do it, too.'"
Ukraine has deployed interceptor drones and a team of specialists to help protect U.S. military bases in Jordan, President Volodymyr Zelensky told the New York Times in an interview published on March 9. Zelensky said the U.S. requested assistance on March 5 as tensions in the Middle East escalated following strikes on Iran. Ukraine agreed immediately and dispatched the team the next day. "We reacted immediately," the president said. "I said, yes, of course, we will send our experts." The deployment comes as Iran retaliates against attacks by United States and Israel, launching drones and missiles against U.S. bases, diplomatic facilities, and civilian targets across the region.
It shows the missile slamming into a building inside a walled compound " likely a health clinic that was also inside the perimeter of what was at one point an Iranian Revolutionary Guard naval base. "what was at one point an Iranian Revolutionary Guard naval base." Read more
A U.S. National Guard Soldier died in a health-related incident in Kuwait on March 6 during a medical emergency. The exact cause of death is under review. Read more
