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Thursday, April 23, 2026

More than 120 organizations issued a travel warning for the United States on Thursday, telling those who want to visit for the FIFA World Cup to use caution amid the Trump administration's heightened immigration enforcement measures.


While the Trump administration has reportedly tried to rein in Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s widely unpopular anti-vaccine agenda, the political strategy is not working when it comes to words or actions. Kennedy on Tuesday suggested he would continue to meddle with federal vaccine policy, and news broke Wednesday that his political appointees have discarded scientific data that conflicts with Kennedy's anti-vaccine views.


President Donald Trump's erratic moves aren't helping. read more


Administration officials on Wednesday softened their predictions of an end to the Iran war and its turbulent effects on energy prices.


Wednesday, April 22, 2026

U.S. intelligence is at odds with public declarations by President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who said the Iranian Air Force was "wiped out" and the Navy is "at the bottom of the sea."


Comments

Speaking of Pres Trump bailing out entities ...

There's this ...

Trump Considers Bailing Out His Family's Major Business Partner
newrepublic.com

... The Trump administration is considering a bailout for the United Arab Emirates over economic losses sustained as a result of the U.S. war with Iran.

The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that UAE officials are speaking with the White House about providing financial relief, such as a currency swap, if their economy takes an even bigger hit during the war. Khaled Mohamed Balama, governor of the UAE's central bank, raised the issue in meetings with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last week. UAE officials reportedly have said their finances are OK for now, but they could need help in the future.

In an interview with CNBC Monday morning, Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, said that while he hadn't spoken directly with Bessent about it, if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and continues to hurt the UAE's economy, the Trump administration would be willing to provide help.

"The UAE has been an incredibly valuable ally throughout this effort, and I am sure that the treasury secretary will make every effort to help them out should that be necessary," Hassett said. ...



@#5 ... But now, it does not seem to be just America.

Look at what he has done to the global economy because of his war with Iran. ...

Asia Energy Squeeze Worsens as Supply Cushion Melts
oilprice.com

... Asian countries have been buying all the oil they can get their hands on since the Strait of Hormuz shut down for business. Thanks to ample supply of seaborne crude oil, mostly consisting of sanctioned Russian and Iranian crude, the shock from the fallout of the war has been somewhat mitigated -- but not for long. As that supply runs out, the shock is looming ever larger. ...

The poorer Asian nations have been the first to start running out of options. Because of limited financial resources, these nations have not been able to build the kind of oil reserve that their wealthier neighbors have now tapped to deal with the crisis. Several countries in Southeast Asia have begun implementing energy austerity measures, with the Philippines declaring a national energy emergency. ...



-- and --

Sri Lanka announces 4-day work week, declares Wednesdays off to save fuel amid Hormuz crisis
www.msn.com

... Sri Lanka has moved to a four-day workweek as part of emergency measures to conserve fuel reserves amid a deepening global energy crisis triggered by tensions around the Strait of Hormuz. According to the BBC, the Sri Lankan government has declared one additional day each week as a holiday for public institutions, effectively cutting the workweek to four days for many sectors. Starting March 18, Wednesdays are declared public holidays, reducing transportation fuel consumption. ...


I could go on ...


Related?

New York hotel bookings are showing no sign of World Cup boost
www.msn.com

... New York's hotel industry has spent years dreaming of this year's FIFA World Cup as a cash cow that will fill the city with free-spending visitors. But seven weeks before kickoff, hoteliers are increasingly worried about the lack of a tournament bump.

City hotels have sold just 18% of available rooms between June 13, date of the first match at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium, and July 19, when the venue hosts the World Cup final. The comparable figure this time a year ago was 26%, according to data compiled by CoStar Group Inc. earlier this month. ...


More from the article ...

... In a Congressional hearing Tuesday, Kennedy refused to commit to supporting evidence-based vaccine policy from the next director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At the same time, he refused to say that he wouldn't interfere with the agency's recommendations.

Last week, Trump nominated Erica Schwartz to be the next CDC director, a role that requires Senate confirmation. Schwartz is a respected physician and former public health official who has championed the use of vaccines during her distinguished career. Outside experts were pleasantly surprised by the uncontroversial choice but wary of her ability to implement evidence-based policy under Kennedy.

Last year, Kennedy -- who has no medical, scientific, or public health background -- ousted the previous Senate-confirmed director, Susan Monarez, who was, like Schwartz, a well-qualified and respected pick for the role. Monarez testified that she was pushed out for refusing to rubber-stamp vaccine recommendations from Kennedy's hand-selected anti-vaccine advisors. Monarez lasted as CDC director for just 29 days.

Kennedy's response Tuesday suggested Schwartz could face an equally short tenure.

His answer came amid an exchange with Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.) in a hearing of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Ruiz asked Kennedy: "If Dr. Schwartz is confirmed, will you commit on the record today to implement whatever vaccine guidance she issues without interference?"

Kennedy replied without hesitation: "I'm not going to make that kind of commitment." ...


It seems they were invited by a local government ...

Mexican President Promises Investigation, Possible Sanctions Following Deaths Of CIA Agents In Northern Mexico
www.ibtimes.com

... Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she might take action against the local government of Chihuahua following the deaths of two CIA agents who were involved in an operation to destroy drug laboratories Sunday.

The deaths of the men and how much they were involved in the operation has sparked concerns about U.S. security activities in Mexico and whether the country's sovereignty was violated. Sheinbaum said that Mexico's federal government was not informed of the operation, something that goes against the law.

There cannot be agents from any U.S. government institution operating in the Mexican field," Sheinbaum said Wednesday, according to CBS News.

The two men died in a vehicle crash on Sunday following the operation along with two Mexican law enforcement officials. A press release from the Chihuahua Attorney General's office noted that "two instructor officers from the United States Embassy...died in an accident while returning from the operation to destroy clandestine laboratories in the municipality of Morelos."

The release further states that the two U.S. men were "two instructor officers from the United States Embassy, who were carrying out training work as part of the exchange that is generally and normally carried out with the American authorities."

Multiple media reports this week have identified the men as CIA agents.

Chihuahua authorities eventually rejected any notion that the men had participated in the operation directly, saying they were several hours away at the time it happened and were conducting training operations. ...


More from the article ...

... President Donald Trump's team is no longer making predictions about energy prices.

That much was clear Wednesday when administration officials facing lawmakers declined to put a timetable on when the war in Iran would end and the ensuing rise in energy prices would ease, instead offering vague assurances of their track record in lowering prices.

"I think the conflict will end, and I think gasoline prices will come back to where they were, or perhaps lower," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Senate appropriators.

Bessent declined to say Wednesday when the price of gasoline -- now averaging above $4 per gallon, more than a dollar higher than when the war started -- will come down. Instead, he told Senate appropriators that it depended on the length of the war.

"That is path dependent on when the war and the conflict end," he said.

That's a marked shift in rhetoric from previous public appeals asking for reassurance on energy price spikes two months after Trump launched the strikes in the Middle East and Iran retaliated by attacking oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, choking off nearly 20 percent of the world's oil supply and straining the global economy. Trump himself originally said the war, now nearing its second month, would last "four to five weeks."

Energy Secretary Chris Wright, also appearing at a hearing Wednesday, walked back a comment he made over the weekend that U.S. gasoline prices could stay above $3 per gallon until next year -- a suggestion Trump publicly refuted. ...


Trik Turner - Friends & Family (2002)
www.youtube.com

Lyrics excerpt ...

genius.com

...
[Verse 1]
Some call me a loser
Some call me a cheater
Some say I'm a selfish untalented dreamer
Cause all's I try to do is keep my dream alive

But it's so hard to do when you're working 9 to 5
I've never been one afraid to die
But I'm afraid to leave behind
The precious life that grows through the sands of time

Cause now I've got two daughters
And I know they need their father
To help them make it through all of the devious things that people do
Cause every moment counts from the good times to the bad
I don't have time to envy those that got things I've never had
Cause the one thing most important is the one we take for granted
And until your life is on that line I think it's the way god had planned it

To open up your eyes and make you realize
That to some life is money
But what's money without life
Cause all's I need is the air that I breathe
And my friends and family to believe in me

[Chorus]
As deep as the abyss where the waters run
As deep as the land of the rising sun
You know I'm down
And even when them odds are against us
It doesn't even matter
Nothing else matters

As deep as the abyss where the waters run
As deep as the land of the rising sun
You know I'm down
And even when them odds are against us
It doesn't even matter
Nothing else matters

[Verse 2]
We bleed the same blood
We cry the same tears
We have the same fears
We pass the same years
We see the same stars
Under the same skies

We pass the same time
We all live and die

Cause friends and family wash thicker than blood

And if ya' never felt love than I feel for you cuz'

Cuz' lives pass above us 747's
Deceased dwell below us
Before they go to heaven

Deep like seven leagues life intrigues intelligence
Got no time for clutter, you're late if there's hesitance
Put your foot forward and there will be a helping hand
Take a step back and you're stuck in the quick sand
Ingesting toxins keeps us locked in, a mental jail trap
2000' where's your family at

[Bridge:]
Oh, and I might fail
Oh, I might succeed
Whatever the outcome is
Just keep your faith in me
Just believe in me
And I will be there
...


thingy
en.wiktionary.org

...
thingy (plural thingies)

              (informal) A thing (used to refer to something vaguely or when one cannot recall or does not wish to mention its name)
...

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