Cutting Through the SCOTUS Tariff Fog, USTR Jamieson Greer Discusses Baseline Tariff Reset Shifts and Reciprocity Tariffs

February 25, 2026 | Sundance |

The Supreme Courttariff ruling has created the need for U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to modify the baseline tariff approachwith the approvals of President Trump.

The baseline tariffs are being reset to 10% with upward adjustment to 15% as planned.The reciprocal tariffs will not require any substantive modifications as most of the Free Trade Agreements have been cemented with reciprocity tariffs as part of the negotiated deals.

USTR Greer appears on Bloomberg toclarify the current situation and provide some information as to the transitional baseline tariffsas now modified. Additionally, andimportantly, Greer begins discussing the USMCA reviewand his acceptance that PresidentTrump is openly questioning the value for us.Greer notesMexico and Canada being used as import hubs to avoid tariffs is a big issue. WATCH:

Section 232[Steel and Aluminum examples] of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (19 U.S.C. §1862, as amended)authorizes the President to impose trade restrictions—such as a tariff or quota—if the Secretary of Commerce determines, following an investigation, that imports of a good “threaten to impair” U.S. national security. {SOURCE}

Section 301 tariffs are a trade enforcement mechanism established under the Trade Act of 1974. They allow the U.S. government to impose tariffs on imports fromcountries that are found to be engaging in unfair trade practices. The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) conducts investigations to determine if a country is violating trade agreements, and if so, it can impose tariffs as a corrective measure {SOURCE}

Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 allows the U.S. president to impose tariffs of up to 15%to address “large and serious” balance-of-payments deficits. This authority can be exercised without prior congressional approval for a limited duration of 150 days. After this period, any tariffs must be extended by Congress. {SOURCE}

*FYI, there is a lot of distracting noise in the various social media platforms about internecine MAGA battlesand ego-driven points of specific interest. CTH chooses to focus energy and attention on the substantive policy issues that will generate substantive policy outcomes for America.

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2026/02/25/cutting-through-the-scotus-tariff-fog-ustr-jamieson-greer-discusses-baseline-tariff-reset-shifts-and-reciprocity-tariffs/

US Trade Representative Greer on 15% Tariff, USMCA, EU Trade Deal

13:16

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer says President Donald Trump will sign a supplemental proclamation to increase the tariff level to 15% “where appropriate,” as the US seeks “continuity” on tariffs. Greer also discusses expectations for the UK and European Union to honor their existing trade deals and the Trump administration wanting to fix gaps in the trade deal with Canada and Mexico.

https://youtu.be/T5XxlN8rpWA

A Name From The Past – FBI Raids Home of Alberto Carvalho

February 25, 2026 | Sundance |

If you were with CTH when I did the deep dive into the Miami-Dade School Police Department and Miami-Dade School Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, you will likely remember how corrupt and sketchy he was. {SEARCH TOOL}

Carvalho was tightly aligned with the Obama/Biden administration, the “my brothers keeper” program and the Dade/Broward County “Promise Program” where high schoolkids who committed felonies were directed away from the criminal justice systemand instead given school punishments (suspensions etc.).

I spent months fighting corrupt Miami-Dade officials and getting transcripts frominternal police investigators who admitted to the corruption within the program. It was jaw-dropping.

Well, Carvalho left Miami-Dade and went to work in Los Angeles. Now this appears:

BREAKING: FBI LA confirms they are currently executing search warrants at two addresses, which a separate federal law enforcement source tells Fox News are the home and office of Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho. LAUSD is the 2nd biggest school district in the country.

We are told the underlying affidavit in support of the search warrant is under seal, so it’s unclear what potential wrongdoing Carvalho may be suspected of. More as we get it. {SOURCE}

In 2013 an investigation into the Miami-DadeSchool Police Department (M-DSPD) uncoveredseveral police officers, and School Resource Officers, admitting to breaking the lawbecause they wereinstructed to do soby M-DSPD Police Chief Charles Hurley. During the investigation, ChiefHurley admitted to giving the police officers instructions to hide criminal conduct by students, because ofspecific demands by School Superintendent Alberto Carvalho. Trayvon Martin was a beneficiary of the program.

Alberto Carvalho is a very well connectedpolitical figure among Democrats.[Carvalho also has a zipper problem]It was Carvalho’s program to use the police toinflate statistical improvements in schoolsthat eventually led to neighboring Broward County doing the same thing in 2013. That led to the Parkland school shooting.

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2026/02/25/a-name-from-the-past-fbi-raids-home-of-alberto-carvalho/

(The deeper the dive, the more Obama shows up as a terrorist==

25 Feb, 2026 14:39

Hungary to deploy troops against potential ‘Ukrainian attacks’

Budapest has ordered units to guard critical infrastructure sites in areas bordering Ukraine amid the Druzhba oil pipeline standoff

Hungarian Prime MinisterViktor Orban has ordered military units and additional police to guard energy infrastructuresites in his country’s east, citing the threat of potential Ukrainian attacks.

Orban announced the deployment on Wednesday amid the continuing standoff between Budapest and Kiev over the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline, which until recently carried Russian crude to Hungary and Slovakia via Ukraine.

The pipeline went offline in late January, with Kiev claiming it was damaged in Russian strikes, which Moscow has denied.Both Hungary and Slovakia have accused Ukraine of deliberately withholding supplies for political reasons, threatening retaliation.

Announcing the move, Orban cited intelligence obtained by the country’s security services about the potential attacks and stressed thatHungary “cannot be blackmailed” by Kiev.

“I have ordered reinforced protection of critical infrastructure, troop deployment where necessary, increased police presence,and a drone ban in Szabolcs-Szatmar-Bereg county,” the prime minister wrote on X, referring to the Hungarian region bordering Ukraine.

Orban’s political director, Balazs Orban, claimed that information available to the country’sauthorities indicated that Kiev has been “preparing further actions aimed at disrupting the operation of Hungary’s energy system.”

The deployment comesafter Budapest vetoed the latest EU package of sanctionsagainst Russia,as well as a €90 billion ($106 billion) emergency loan for Ukraine. The loan was agreed upon late last year, after Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic opted out of contributing to it financially.

The veto has been condemned by the EU leadership, whichaccused Orban of bailing on his promise to support the loan schemeand undermining the “credibility of decisions taken collectively.”

“Any breach of this commitment constitutes a violation of the principle of sincere cooperation,” European Council President Antonio Costa told Orban in a letter.

The Hungarian prime minister shot back at Costa on Wednesday,stating he will not support any pro-Ukrainian moves until Kiev returns “to normality.”

“We take a decision financially favorable to Ukraine that I personally disapprove, thenUkraine creates an energy emergency situation in Hungary, and you ask me to pretend that nothing happened,”Orban told the EU Council chief in a letter.

https://www.rt.com/news/633029-hungary-ukrainian-attacks-threat/

(I can’t even imagine being in the EU, that dictates what countries can do, it’s an international Mafia set up.)

25 Feb, 2026 13:31

Kiev and Moscow should avoid strikes on leadership centers – Zelensky chief of staff

Despite once vowing to “kill Russians anywhere in the world,” former Ukrainian spy chief Kirill Budanov has now called for restraint amid peace talks

Ukraine and Russia should refrain from striking each other’s decision-making centers, Vladimir Zelensky’s newly appointed chief of staff, Kirill Budanov, has said. His comments come weeks after Kiev launched a drone attack on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence in Valdai, and as Moscow has reportedly ruled out similar strikes on Ukrainian leadership targets.

In an interview with RBK-Ukraine published on Tuesday, Budanov – who previously served as the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) – said he opposes such strikes andthat “it doesn’t matter whether we are talking about Kiev or, say, Valdai.Especially now, when a difficult process of peace negotiations is underway.”

Budanov is wanted in Russia on terrorism charges for allegedly masterminding over 100 attacks on Russian soil, including the 2022 Crimean Bridge explosion which killed four people.

Despite once vowing to “kill Russians anywhere on the face of this world,”Budanov,who recently replaced Zelensky’s former chief of staff Andrey Yermak after he resigned amid a massive corruption scandal,has recently advocated for negotiations. He has called for a ceasefire “as soon as possible,” acknowledging that talks with Moscow are “definitely needed and cannot be avoided.”

In December, when Budanov was still serving as Kiev’s military spy chief, Ukraine launched a massive raid on Putin’s Valdai residence involving 91 UAVs, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. All were shot down, with no casualties or damage reported. Kiev denied involvement.

The Kremlin described the incident as a “terrorist act” aimed at derailing peace efforts and undermining US President Donald Trump’s mediation. Former CIA analyst Larry Johnson suggested the timing – coinciding with Zelensky’s visit to the US – indicated the attack may have been staged by domestic opponents to sabotage negotiations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown restraint regarding strikes on Ukrainian leadership centers, according to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. In December, he told journalists that after Russia first deployed its Oreshnik hypersonic missile system in November 2024, “some hot heads”proposed striking Ukrainian decision-making centers, including Zelensky’s residence.

“Putin categorically rejected this idea from the get-go,”Lukashenko told the media.

(https://www.rt.com/russia/633030-budanov-kiev-valdai-strikes/

Every thing Ukraine does is to deny doing it, or for other nefarious plans.

Mandelson’s Lawyers Say His Arrest Was Prompted by ‘Baseless Suggestion’ He Was a Flight Risk

2/24/26

Lawyers for Peter Mandelson, the former U.K. ambassador to the U.S., have argued his arrest was “prompted by a baseless suggestion” he was set to flee and “take up permanent residence abroad.”

“There is absolutely no truth whatsoever in any such suggestion,” said a spokesperson for Mishcon De Reya, Mandelson's law firm, on Tuesday evening.KEK, that sounds true in the UK!

“We have asked the MPS [Metropolitan Police Service] for the evidence relied upon to justify the arrest,” they continued, adding that Mandelson's “overriding priority is to cooperate with the police investigation, as he has done throughout this process, and to clear his name.”

TIME has reached out to the Metropolitan Police for comment.

Mandelson was released on bail in the early hours of Tuesday morning following his arrest.

“A 72-year-old man arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office has been released on bail pending further investigation,” said a police spokesperson in a statement published just after 2 a.m., local time.

“He was arrested at an address in Camden on Monday, Feb. 23, and was taken to a London police station for interview.”

The police force reiterated that the arrest followed “search warrants at two addresses in the Wiltshire and Camden areas.”

Police opened a criminal investigation into Mandelson earlier this month amid allegations that stemmed from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Jan. 30 release of files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Once a prominent figure in the U.K.'s ruling Labour Party, Mandelson was sacked as ambassador in September, just months after his appointment, following disclosures from a former batch of Epstein files that showed his relationship with the financier extended beyond what he’d previously disclosed.

In a letter to staff at the British embassy in Washington, D.C., Mandelson referred to the role as the “privilege” of his life and said he feels “utterly awful” about his “association” with Epstein.

The emails released by the DOJ in the final batch of Epstein files proved even more damning.

Correspondence appeared to show Mandelson might have leaked sensitive government information to Epstein when he served as Business Secretary under former U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown from 2008 to 2010.

In one resurfaced email, Mandelson appeared to tell Epstein he would lobby other government officials in an effort to reduce a tax on bankers’ bonuses. In another, he appeared to have forwarded an internal government report to Epstein which showed ways the U.K. might raise funds after the 2008 financial crisis.

Mandelson also appeared to have tipped off Epstein that Brown would be resigning in2010 and that the E.U. would announce a €500 billion bailout to stem the Greek debt crisis.

https://time.com/7380534/peter-mandelson-arrested-epstein-files-fallout/

25 Feb, 2026 14:24

US abstains from anti-Russia vote at UN

Washington declined to endorse Kiev’s statement calling for an unconditional ceasefire

The US has abstained from a UN General Assembly vote on a Kiev-backed resolution condemning Russia’s actions in the Ukraine conflict.

The resolution on Tuesday, delivered four years after the escalation of the conflict, urged an immediate, full, and unconditional ceasefire.

In the UN General Assembly vote on the document, 107 countries supported it, 12 – including Belarus, Iran, and North Korea – voted against, and 51, including the US, Armenia, Brazil, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Serbia, and Uzbekistan, abstained.

UN General Assembly President and former German ForeignMinister Annalena Baerbock told ARD that the US delegation “deliberately wanted to remove” the requirement of a “lasting and just peace” from the resolution.

“The Americans have always voted for this resolution before,” she said. Now, “for the first time, they haven’t voted for it,” Baerbock noted, claiming the stance was “frustrating.”

Russia’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, Anna Evstigneeva, saidthe document “ignores the complexity of the conflict, interprets the UN Charter in a one-sided manner, and creates obstacles to negotiations.”

She added that, to achieve lasting peace,Kiev should focus on diplomatic efforts, seek compromise solutions, and establish reliable securityguarantees for both Russia and Ukraine. Instead, she said, it prefers to initiate new politicized votes.

UN General Assembly resolutions are advisory in nature and are not legally binding.

Russia says it is seeking a comprehensive peace deal rather than an immediate frontline ceasefire, which it believes Ukraine would merely use to rearm and regroup amid steady battlefield setbacks. Moscow argues the conflict can only be resolved by addressing its “root causes,” and that a sustainable settlement requires Ukraine to withdraw from areas it controls in Donbass – which voted to join Russia in 2022 – commit to demilitarization and “denazification,” abandon its NATO bid, and adopt neutral status.

Russia, the US, and Ukraine held talks in Geneva last week after earlier meetings in Abu Dhabi in January, but territorial disputes — particularly Kiev’s refusal to relinquish its claim to Donbass — reportedly remain the main obstacle to peace.

https://www.rt.com/news/633034-us-un-russia-resolution/

24 Feb, 2026 19:43

A continental revolution is brewing in Europe

The future of the region is being written east of Brussels – and Marco Rubio’s tour confirmed exactly what Brussels fears most. By Ladislav Zemánek,Valdai Discussion Club.1/3

When US Secretary of State Marco Rubio left the polite but brittle atmosphere of the Munich Security Conference and headed for Bratislava and Budapest, the contrast could not have been sharper.

In Munich, the old guard of transatlantic liberalismclung to its vocabulary of ‘rules-based order’ and ‘shared values’, even as its political base erodes across the continent. In Central Europe,Rubio encountered something different: Governmentsconfident in their mandates, unapologetic about sovereignty, and aligned with Donald Trump’s insistence that nations – not supranational bureaucracies – are the primary actors of history.

Last week’s visit was a statement of intent. Washington under Trump has made a deliberate choice: If Europe is to be a partner rather than a liability, it must be rebuilt from its healthiest political core. And that core lies not in Brussels, but along the Danube.

In Bratislava,Rubio met with Prime Minister Robert Fico and President Peter Pellegrini. Theagenda– regional security, nuclear cooperation, military modernization –was substantive. But thesubtext was unmistakable. “Under President Trump, this administration is going to make not just Slovakia but Central Europea key component of how we engage the continent and the world,” Rubio said. It was a diplomatic sentence with revolutionary implications.

For years, Central Europe was treated by Brussels as a problem to be managed: Too conservative, too attached to national identity, too resistant to cultural engineering. Now it is being treated by Washington as an asset to be cultivated.

Fico’s remarks revealed why this shift matters. When he visited Moscow and Beijing last year in pursuit of Slovakia’s national interests,the reaction from EU institutions was furious– accusations, insinuations, moral lectures. Genuine diplomacy, in Brussels’ view, is acceptable only when it aligns with the prevailing orthodoxy.Yet from the White House, Fico encountered no hysteria– only what he described as“common-sense pragmatism.”The contrast speaks volumes.

Central European leaders have grown weary of an EU that polices internal politics more aggressively than it secures external borders.They have watched as energy supplies became instruments of political pressure and as ideological conformity became a condition of financial solidarity. Slovakia and Hungary have both experienced the weaponization of gas and oil transit routes by Kiev and Brussels – an illustration of how geopolitics, underBrussels’ watch, too often morphs into leverage against dissenting member states.

Trump’s America reads the situation differently. Stability requires diversification, not dogma. Slovakia’s negotiations with Westinghouse Electric Company to build a new nuclear power plant by 2040, along with plans to expand its fleet of F-16 fighter jets, represent more than procurement decisions.They symbolize a rebalancing: Energy sovereignty anchored in American partnership rather than EU dependency.

Slovakia’s upcoming presidency of the Visegrad Group offers an even broader horizon. A potential V4-US summit would institutionalize what is already happening politically:The consolidation of a Central European bloc that sees Washington– not Brussels –as its most reliable strategic interlocutor. The Visegrad countries are not seeking rupture with the EU necessarily. They are seeking a radical reform within it.And they are finding in Trump’s America an ally that understands the difference.

https://www.rt.com/news/632999-central-europe-continental-revolution/

>>24307764

2/3

If Bratislava represented strategic convergence,Budapest embodied ideological affinity. In Hungary, Rubio spoke of a “golden era” in relations with Prime Minister Viktor Orban.The phrase was not diplomatic flattery. It reflected a reality that many in Western Europe prefer to ignore:

Orban has become one of the most consequential leaders in the West.

For more than a decade,Hungary has resisted mass migration, defended Christian cultural foundations, and advanced a pro-family policy architecturethat directly challenges progressive orthodoxy. While Brussels initiated infringement procedures and withheld funds,Orban consolidated domestic support. To many American conservatives, Hungary became proof that resistance is possible – and electorally viable.

Rubio made it clear that Trump sees Hungary’s prosperity as intertwined with American national interests. A stable, confident Central Europe strengthens NATO’s eastern flank without provoking conflicts with Russia, diversifies Europe’s energy map, and injects ideological pluralism into a union dominated by liberal technocracy and woke ldeology.

Energy cooperation is once again at the center. Agreements on small modular reactors, nuclear fuel supply via Westinghouse, and expanded purchases of American liquefied natural gas anchor the relationship in tangible interdependence. Crucially, Rubio also signaled that Washington does not demand ideological purity in Hungary’s foreign policy.

Rubio’s candor on Hungary’s external partnerships cut directly against the moral absolutismthat has defined so much of Brussels’ recent rhetoric. Hungary’s prosperity, he made clear, is not a peripheral concern but a US national interest – preciselywhy President Donald Trump has seen no contradiction in allowing Budapest to pursue pragmatic cooperation with Russia. Implicit in this stance is a quiet rebuke to Europe’s self-defeating rigidity: Selective, interest-driven engagement with Moscow need not be heresy if it advances stability and national resilience.

The same sober logic governs Hungary’s ties with Beijing.Rubio underscored that Washington does not demand ritual denunciations of China; it demands only that allies avoid overdependence.Differences between great powers can be managed, he argued – what must be avoided is submission. In this framework, Hungary’s balanced diplomacy is not deviance from the Western cause,but a model of sovereign statecraft.

This is realism – precisely the kind that Brussels often denounces while practicing selectively. The difference is that Trump’s America applies it without moral grandstanding.

Orban’s willingness to host a future peace summit between Russia, Ukraine, and the US further underscores Central Europe’s unique position.Geographically proximate yet politically independent, Hungary can serve as a bridge rather than a battleground. The same applies to Slovakia. These are nations that remember the cost of being buffer zones in great-power struggles.They seek not escalation but equilibrium.

Last year’s US National Security Strategy crystallized this logic. It called for the “healthy nations of Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe” to be built up through trade, arms sales, and political collaboration. The phrasing was deliberate.‘Healthy’ implies resilience– political cultures still rooted in electoral majorities, national narratives, and civilizational heritage.

https://www.rt.com/news/632999-central-europe-continental-revolution/

>>24307768

3/3

In Western Europe, the old liberal elites remain entrenched in bureaucracies, media ecosystems, and academic institutions. Their project – progressive social transformation combined with centralized governance – has alienated significant portions of their electorates. Central Europe, by contrast, has produced leaders who openly contest that trajectory.By aligning with them, Washington is amplifying democratic choice, rather than exporting ideology.

Rubio’s tour made something unmistakably clear: The gravitational center of US-European cooperation is shifting eastward. The capitals that once endured lectures from Brussels are now receiving strategic endorsement from Washington. The nations that were dismissed as illiberal are being recognized as indispensable.

This does not herald the end of the EU. But it does signal the end of its ideological monopoly. A multipolar Europe – internally plural, politically competitive, strategically diversified – is emerging. And in this Europe, central states are not junior partners. They are agenda-setters.

For Trump’s America, this alignment is both practical and philosophical. It secures defense contracts and energy routes. It strengthens NATO’s operational depth. And it fosters a continental counterweight to progressive uniformity.

Rubio’s journey from Munich to Budapest traced more than a travel itinerary. It mapped a fault line – and a future. The old liberal consensus may still dominate conference halls. But along the Danube, a different Europe is consolidating: Sovereign, self-confident, and unafraid to say no to Brussels.

Washington has noticed. And it has chosen its partners accordingly.

https://www.rt.com/news/632999-central-europe-continental-revolution/

25 Feb, 2026 11:30

==West won’t deploy troops to Ukraine without Russian approval – Telegraph=

Moscow has repeatedly ruled out accepting a NATO military presence in the neighboring country

Western European nations will not deploy troops to Ukraine without Russian consent, The Telegraph reported Tuesday, citing anonymous sources.

The UK-French initiative to deploy troops to Ukraine has been promoted as a deterrent against Russia which could follow a potential peace deal. Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, has repeatedly rejected the idea of NATO countries stationing troops there.

A senior diplomatic source told the British newspaper that members of the pro-Kiev ‘coalition of the willing’ have privately conceded that they would “only send our troops if there’s Russian consent.”

Moscow’s warnings that foreign troops would be considered legitimate military targets are taken seriously, and given that risk, “you need to send a different kind of force,” the source said, adding that Russian opposition has had “a tremendous effect” on the discussions. A European defense source described the proposed mission as “rather hypothetical.”

Some Western leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, have previously claimed that Russia’s permission to station troops in Ukraine would not be required. According to the press reports, however,the hypothetical deployment of European NATO countries’ troops would necessitate US security guarantees.

Moscow views the Ukraine conflict as a NATO proxy war against Russia. After the 2022 escalation, Western nations sought to isolate Russia diplomatically,but the policy backfired on European NATO members after Washington shifted course under US President Donald Trumpin order to pursue a negotiated resolution.

Hardliners in Europe continue to oppose negotiations with Russia. A diplomatic source cited by The Telegraph arguedthat governments seeking a say in peace terms give Putin a veto over their military strategy. (What’s funny about this is Putin would veto any plan to keep this nonsense going. Retards making peace are not helpful.)

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson – widely believed to have derailed a diplomatic resolution four years ago – told the newspaper that the US-mediated talks “are completely abstract” and urged further escalation, calling for Tomahawk cruise missiles to be supplied to Ukraine.

https://www.rt.com/news/633022-nato-troops-ukraine-telegraph/

WATCH: Susan Collins Quizzes Surgeon General Nominee Casey Means on Past Shrooms Use

Tom Durante

Feb 25th, 2026, 1:46 p

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) dug into Surgeon General nominee Casey Means’ past use of psychedelic mushrooms on Wednesday as the latter faced a grilling from the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Collins, referencing Means’ 2024 book, “Good Energy,” read out a passage in which an “internal voice” whispered to Means, “It’s time to prepare,” inspiring her to try psychedelics.

Saying that “illicit drug use remains a huge problem in this country,” Collins implored Means to explain how she would approach the topic should she become the next surgeon general.

“According to your book, in 2021, you began using illicit psychedelic mushrooms. So, my questions to you are two-fold. One, do you stand by what you said in your book, encouraging people to try psychedelics? And second, as surgeon general, should you be confirmed, how would you speak to the American people about the use of illicit drugs?” Collins asked.

“This is a very important question,” Means replied, adding that “I believe what I would say as a private citizen is in many cases different than what I would say as a public health official. Joining a team where the purpose of this role is to communicate absolutely the best evidence-based science to the American people to keep them safe, thriving, and healthy.”

She added:

When it comes to psychedelic therapy for mental health issues, I think the science is still emerging, and so it would certainly not be a recommendation to the American people to do that under no circumstances. I do believe that there is exciting work being done in this area that needs to continue on psychedelic therapies for PTSD and veterans for mental health issues and some of the researchers who are doing this work have said it’s some the most promising exciting in their careers,but to be very clear there is no way I would recommend that to the American people in this role. Our illicit drug use problem in this country is monumental and severe, and I look forward to working with you on these issues that are so important.

Collins then asked what Means meant when she wrote about the “internal voice” that instructed her, “It’s time to prepare.”

“In that passage of the book, I’m referring to my mother’s passing, which happened- she got a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer about a week after that experience, and in my meditations and prayers at that time,I was having a deep sense that something ominous was coming, and so that’s what that’s referring to.”

Means finally faced the Senate panel on Wednesday after her original hearing, slated for last October, was delayedwhen she went into labor on the day it was set to begin.

President Donald Trump nominated Means for the role in May after withdrawing his original pick, Janette Nesheiwat.

https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/watch-susan-collins-quizzes-surgeon-general-nominee-casey-means-on-past-shrooms-use/

Democrat wins special election for Lewiston seat in Maine House

Maine Public | By Kevin Miller

Published February 25, 2026

Democrat Scott Harriman won a special election in Lewiston on Tuesday to fill a vacant seat in the Maine House.

Harriman defeated Republican Janet Beaudoin by a vote margin of 572 to 503. Harriman will take the House District 94 seat vacated by former Rep. Kristen Cloutier, a Democrat who resigned last fall to take a job in the Senate President's office.

Harriman's victory means that Democrats will have a narrow, three-seat advantage over Republicans in the 151-member House, with three independent or unenrolled members. Another special election will be held in June to fill a seat held by Republican Rep. Kathy Javner, who died in January.

The special election in Lewiston was a high priority for both parties because of the potential implications for control of the House. Harriman, 39, is currently serving his third term on the Lewiston City Council and also serves on the Lewiston School Committee.

https://www.mainepublic.org/politics/2026-02-25/democrat-wins-special-election-for-lewiston-seat-in-maine-house

Rising Cancer Rates, the Globalist Agenda, and the Big Business Land Grab Making You Poor

One of the most impressive politicians of this era is running for governor in Iowa. His name is Zach Lahn. Watch this.

Zach Lahn is a sixth-generation Iowan, entrepreneur, regenerative farmer, and candidate for Governor of Iowa. He founded Homeplace Ventures, restored his family’s 115-year-old homestead in Belle Plaine, and is leading efforts to revive and strengthen rural Iowa communities. Zach and his wife, Annie, are raising seven children while restoring the land that has shaped their family for generations. Zach is the first candidate endorsed by the MAHA PAC, a recognition of his commitment to Making Iowa Healthy Again - cleaning up our food, protecting our land and water, and defending the culture and values that define our state. Follow and support his campaign at www.zachlahn.com and @zachlahn on X.

1:27:39

https://youtu.be/8m5S01u7z5c