Day: April 22, 2026
Mike Huckabee reportedly to join talks between Lebanon and the US as Trump extends peace deal deadline
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has reportedly been tapped to participate in the next round of talks with Lebanon.
The ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. appears to be on shaky ground after both sides accused each other of violating the terms they agreed to.
The Times reported that Iran failed to respond to the latest negotiation positions from the US.
Vice President JD Vance was scheduled to travel to Pakistan in order to further negotiate the peace deal with Iran, but that has been put on hold according to the New York Times.
Also on Tuesday, the president said he would withhold resuming attacks on Iran to give the country’s leaders time to come up with a “unified proposal” for a ceasefire to continue.
“I have therefore directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other,” he wrote on Truth Social.
The Times reported that Iran failed to respond to the latest negotiation positions from the U.S.
Iranian leaders also said they had no plans to attend the talks in Pakistan with the U.S. negotiators.
CNN reported spotting Vance’s motorcade at the White House early Tuesday afternoon.
RELATED: Iran is plotting drone strike against the West Coast, FBI warns
On a radio show Monday, the president warned Iran that the country was going to see “problems like they’ve never seen before” unless it agreed to a peace deal.
He added that he believed the war on Iran was “very close to being over.”
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Southern Poverty Law Center INDICTED for allegedly funneling millions to extremist and white supremacist groups
The Department of Justice announced Tuesday an indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center for allegedly funneling money to extremist groups.
The SPLC said earlier on Tuesday that the organization was being “targeted” by the Trump administration and speculated that the action was related to money paid to informants to gather information from hate groups.
‘We will not be intimidated into silence or contrition, and we will not abandon our mission or the communities we serve.’
In a post on social media, the Department of Justice accused the SPLC of paying $1 million to a National Alliance affiliate, $300K to an Aryan Nations affiliate, and $73K to former members of the Ku Klux Klan, among others.
“As the indictment describes, the SPLC was not dismantling these groups; it was instead manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose by paying sources to stoke racial hatred,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a media briefing.
The indictment includes six counts of wire fraud, four counts of bank fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
“As the indictment lays out, after SPLC paid members of these extremist groups, it created work product that reported on these activities that the members participated in or contributed to,” Blanche added. “And to that end, it was doing the exact opposite of what it told its donors it was doing.”
SPLC interim president and CEO Bryan Fair pre-empted the announcement in a video posted to social media.
“The focus appears to be on the SPLC’s prior use of paid confidential informants to gather credible intelligence on extremely violent groups,” he explained. “This use of informants was necessary because we are no stranger to threats of violence.”
He said that the SPLC shared the information gained through informants with law enforcement agencies but protected the identities of the informants.
RELATED: Southern Poverty Law Center attorney among 23 arrested for domestic terrorism
“Today the federal government has been weaponized to dismantle the rights of our nation’s most vulnerable people,” Fair added.
“We will not be intimidated into silence or contrition, and we will not abandon our mission or the communities we serve,” Fair concluded.
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Pat Gray calls Cory Booker an ‘antichrist’ after shocking ‘what we need is not from on high’ speech
Last weekend during the Michigan Democratic Women’s Caucus Legacy Luncheon, Democrat Sen. Cory Booker (N.J.) quite literally shouted a speech, in which he implored Democrats to become “foot soldiers for democracy” and warned of “darkness and wind” facing the nation ahead of the midterms.
At one point in his 25-minute fire-and-brimstone jeremiad, Booker, gesturing upward, bellowed, “What we need is not from on high!”
On a recent episode of “Pat Gray Unleashed,” Pat played the clip of the speech and concluded that Booker is an “antichrist” among us.
Pat translates Booker’s controversial line: “He is telling you we don’t need God.”
“Well, that’s an antichrist. … Maybe not the Antichrist, but he’s an antichrist,” he argues, calling it “frightening.”
The panel agrees that Booker and fellow Democrats’ wild antics are the result of Trump derangement syndrome.
“The infection has really spread,” says Jeffy.
“How do you come together with these people?” asks Pat. “There’s one way and it is from on high.”
“We got to turn to God on high to come together on this, and if you’re screaming that that’s not what we need, what does that tell Americans?” he asks. “That tells you he’s not the guy to follow, that’s for sure. That’s not the party to follow.”
What is desperately needed, Pat explains, is for all politicians to “call for prayer for the nation to get together and have a common purpose and invoke the blessings of God.”
He compares Booker’s comment to President Trump’s request for national prayer in preparation for the nation’s 250th birthday.
“I’m serious about this being antichrist because [Booker] is telling people you don’t need God,” Pat reiterates. “What we need are Democrats, I guess? So they’re putting themselves in the position of God. … It’s despicable. It’s anti-American. It’s anti-Christian. It’s anti-God.”
Keith Malinak argues Booker is just a “Democrat telling the truth about Democrats.”
To see the clip of Booker’s speech and hear more of the panel’s commentary, watch the episode above.
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Democrat stunned to find criminal past of teen who allegedly carjacked her: ‘Shocked me to my core’
A Democratic county court clerk is demanding accountability for a teenager who allegedly stuck a gun in her face and stole her car in Maryland.
Mahasin El Amin said she was on the phone in her white 2014 Lexus when a young man approached her on Thursday and then pulled a gun on her.
‘I’m just so grateful — grateful to God — because I thought I was going to die.’
The man drove off with her car and left her fearing for her life.
“It’s the scariest thing that ever happened to me in my life,” El Amin said in an interview Friday. “It was so quick — and all the thoughts like, ‘I’m literally going to die.'”
El Amin is the elected clerk of the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County and is running for re-election. She is a Democrat.
A day after the alleged carjacking, police spotted the vehicle and began a pursuit that ended with the driver crashing the Lexus and trying to get away on foot. He was caught and identified as 18-year-old Kairee Hicks of Bowie.
El Amin said she was relieved when she heard of his arrest but was alarmed when she found out about his criminal past.
Police recovered a gun during Hicks’ arrest that they said was connected to a previous shooting and charged him with attempted first-degree murder.
“It shocked me to my core,” said El Amin about the charges. “I’m just so grateful — grateful to God — because I thought I was going to die.”
El Amin said the incident served to remind others to be vigilant in order to stay safe from violent crime.
“I’m glad that this guy, this dangerous guy, is off the streets,” she added. “That’s one less person that we have to worry about. The county is safer because he’s off the streets.”
RELATED: Former Biden staffer rips into Dem-controlled cities for spiraling into chaos: ‘Is this a joke?’
Despite this incident, carjacking crimes are dropping precipitously in the county. There have only been 18 carjacking reports so far in 2026, which represents an astounding 56% drop from the previous year. In 2023, there were 500 carjackings, according to a WJLA-TV report.
Hicks was denied bond and remains in custody.
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OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander named NBA’s top clutch performer
OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander named NBA’s top clutch performer
Brent futures retreat on Iran ceasefire extension after brief climb above $100
Brent crude futures were volatile, settling up about 3% on Tuesday and then climbing further to rise more than 5% to a session high of $101.15 after reports that U.S. Vice President JD Vance had called off his trip to Islamabad for peace talks with Iran.
LIVE UPDATES: Conflict in the Middle East (April 22, 2026)
Here are the latest news and updates on the US-Israel war against Iran and related developments.
Pope Leo urges Africans to stay and ‘serve your country’ instead of migrating as displacement climbs
Pope Leo XIV urged African youth to stay and improve their own countries rather than migrate while speaking to university students in Cameroon’s capital.
Amtrak riders trapped for nearly 24 hours with overflowing bathrooms amid raging wildfires
An Amtrak train carrying 232 passengers was stranded for nearly 24 hours in Florida after brush fires near the tracks forced a halt. Outraged passengers described a chaotic scene.
Federal court upholds Texas law requiring Ten Commandments in public classrooms
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday ruled in favor of a Texas law mandating Ten Commandments be displayed in all public schools.
