Global News Odds & Ends

Activists in Asheville, North Carolina have been standing on this bridge holding signs and banners weekly for well over 2 years - since January 2024. They report that the public is increasingly supportive of their messages.

• A new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen to 34%, the lowest of his current term. The drop is driven by public dissatisfaction with rising living costs and the U.S. war with Iran.
• According to the Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. officials, Trump has told his aids to prepare for an extended U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Trump sees pulling out of the conflict or resuming combat operations against Iran as far more risky than continuing to blockade vessels traveling to and from Iranian ports.
• According to some New York city cab drivers Trump is nothing more than a mafia-style mobster - a crook. He's driving the US into the ground. 

• Ask yourself how much Trump's massive naval presence near Iran is costing the US taxpayer? Who will pay for it at the same time the US is $39 trillion in debt? Every day spent with this highly expensive US naval 'blockade' only adds mountains of more debt. Trump doesn't give a damn either. Is Trump trying to intentionally collapse the US economy? 

• Israeli Minister Amichai Chikli says Israel is stealing land in order to establish a new “border line” with Lebanon.  Even during this so-called ceasefire, the IDF continues destroying infrastructure and effectively creating a new border line of the State of Israel. 

• HAARP Climate disruption: The high-frequency HAARP transmitter is used to generate extremely/very low-frequency waves by means of modulated heating of the ionosphere/magnetosphere. The University of Maranhão in Brazil has concluded that this can cause earthquakes, cyclones, and intense localized heating. 

• The Zionist Bahraini authorities sentenced blind man Jaafar Matouq to 5 years in prison for criticizing America and the Zionist entity. 
• Cuba is still in the crosshairs of the US. Senate blocks a resolution limiting Trump military action on Cuba without Congress approval — fails 51-47. 

• Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs: The United States will not succeed in concealing its blatant violation of Cuba's rights by discrediting China-Cuban cooperation. China firmly supports Cuba in safeguarding its sovereignty and security. We call on the United States to immediately end the embargo, sanctions, and all forms of coercion and pressure it imposes on Cuba.
• CBS News fired its London bureau chief Claire Day after reported clashes with editor-in-chief Bari Weiss over Middle East coverage. Day, a longtime CBS journalist, had pushed for more balanced reporting on Gaza and Iran, while Weiss—known for strong pro-zionist views—reportedly disagreed. 

• Boycott Trump's 2026 FIFA games in the US. Save your $$$$$ and watch them on TV. World Cup ticket cancellations are accelerating as tens of thousands of fans worldwide walked away from FIFA 2026 and call for a boycott over safety concerns tied to U.S. immigration enforcement. The Iranian national team is continuing to prepare for the FIFA World Cup finals and have no intention of pulling out of the tournament but do intend to boycott matches in the US, football chief Mehdi Taj has insisted. 

• Ghana has rejected a proposed health assistance agreement with the US over requirements to share sensitive health data. According to Reuters, Ghana’s government objected to data-sharing terms in the deal, which would have provided $109 million in US health assistance over five years. Ghana is not the first country to withdraw from the pact. In February, Zimbabwe rejected a $367 million US proposal, citing demands for access to sensitive health data, including virus samples and epidemiological information, without guaranteed access to resulting medical innovations.
• Lebanon’s Ministry of Health: 2,576 martyrs and 7,962 wounded since the start of the Israeli aggression on Lebanon on March 2. A young father, Abbas Zayat, mourned his daughter Mila and his wife Ruqayya Zeidan, who were killed in yesterday's terrorist Israeli airstrike on Tayr Debba, south Lebanon. 

• The former French colony Mali has been embroiled in a deadly insurgency for over a decade, driven by multiple armed groups, including affiliates of Al-Qaeda and ISIS operating in the Sahel region. France and Ukraine have been training the ISIS terrorists in order to help France restore its former control over gold mines and other resources in Mali. 

• Israel has used access to water as a weapon and a form of 'collective punishment' against Palestinians in Gaza, according to a report by international medical charity Doctors Without Borders. The report highlights a sharp rise in water-shortage-related diseases, including diarrhea, skin infections, lice, and infected wounds. Additionally, the lack of clean water and sanitation is also worsening malnutrition and severely affecting mental health. 

• SpaceX has approved a plan linking stock compensation for founder and CEO Elon Musk to building a colony on Mars and operating large-scale data centers in space. Under the ambitious plan, Musk could be granted up to 200 million super‑voting shares if the company reaches a valuation of $7.5 trillion and helps establish a permanent human settlement on Mars with at least one million residents. Additional incentives are tied to developing space-based computing infrastructure capable of delivering at least 100 terawatts of processing power, roughly comparable to 100,000 one‑gigawatt nuclear reactors running at the same time. 

• The US will struggle to defend itself against advanced missile systems developed by China and Russia, senior Pentagon officials told lawmakers as they called for funding for the proposed Golden Dome missile defense program. Michael Guetlein, who leads the Golden Dome program within the US Space Force, testified that both China and Russia are continuing to modernize and expand their missile arsenals. These systems, Guetlein said, are “designed to challenge the tracking and engagement capabilities of our sensors” and ensure a “responsive and survivable strike capability." While the US has insisted that the shield was aimed at countering limited threats from countries such as North Korea or Iran, Russian officials have long warned it was undermining nuclear deterrence by enabling a potential decapitating first strike. In that scenario, Moscow argued, American missile interceptors could be used to neutralize a retaliatory strike by surviving Russian missiles. 

• The US sent a CSAR team to Qatar, which includes the same special forces & military planes that did the failed op landing inside of Esfahan in Iran ostensibly t 'rescue' the downed pilot. The HC-130J landed in Qatar, same time US Marine units are near Dubai.