Ships pay passage through Iran’s ‘Toll Booth’ - Lloyds List

1 hour ago

At least two vessels transiting theStrait of Hormuz have paid Iran for safe passage, Lloyd’s List Intelligence reported on Monday, noting thatcommercial traffic is increasingly diverting into Iranian territorial waters through what has been dubbed the “Tehran Toll Booth.”

The route runs between Iran’s Qeshm and Larak islands, where the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is understood to be verifying vessel details and, in some cases, collecting fees.

One fee is reported to have been $2 million, the report said.

Among more than 20 vessels of over 10,000 deadweight tonsthat have taken the detour so far were two so-called “zombie” tankers sailing under the identities of decommissioned ships, the report said, citing shipping data.

It added that despite the conflict sharply reducing overall traffic through the strait,the pace of transits picked up over the weekend.

At least 16 vessels have crossed the chokepoint since Friday, the analysis suggests, with most tracked sailing along the new corridor through Iranian waters.

https://www.iranintl.com/en/202603233156

RedWave Press

@RedWavePress

WOW: Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough continuously pressed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer: “No, no, no. Hold on a second. You’ve got to answer my question first. Yeah. Is it a good thing that Iran—and I think you would agree with me—epicenter of terrorism in the world since 1979, is it good that their military infrastructure is being degraded to the degree that it is, yes or no?”

Chuck Schumer:“You can’t, because it’s a premature question. What is going to happen in the next several months?”

Joe Scarborough: “No, no. No, no, I can ask that question… I’m simply asking, on the military side, is it good? Regardless of whether we agree with going in or not, is it good that Iran’s military infrastructure has been seriously degraded?”

Chuck Schumer:“What’s going to happen three months from now? Is it worth it? What’s going to happen? Will the world economy collapse?Will something happen even worse? Will the whole energy infrastructure of the world go up in smoke? So you have to—when they do it without planning, when they do without understanding where they’re going—”

Joe Scarborough: “Oh, let me answer the question for everybody in America. The answer is yes. It’s good that the terrorist regime’s military and capabilities have been degraded radically.”

2:30 PM · Mar 23, 2026

469.5K

https://x.com/RedWavePress/status/2036148558882038269?s=20

>>24419555

Schumer has proven he’s an asshole and always been one.

And he has some depressive moments where he can’t understand what to hell this war is about.

It’s time for him to retire and learn how to cook hamburgers on a grill.

If it was a democrat President he’d be loudly cheering for it. Plus he seems to think he knows what will happen in the future especially when talking about Trump.

Retire Chuck you are no longer a somber member of the senate, you are a bad fortune telling now!

Iran says it's 'reviewing' a US proposal - CBS

3 hours ago

(Oh the one they denounced loudly all day, hmmm?)

CBS News reports that a senior Iranian Foreign Ministry official has confirmed Tehran received a proposal from Washington and is reviewing them.

“We received points from the US through mediators and they are being reviewed,”CBS reported Monday citing the unnamed official.

Earlier Monday, Donald Trump said Washington and Tehran had held “very good and productive conversations” in recent days and suggested a deal with Iran was possible.

Iran had earlier denied that any direct talks with the United States had taken place.

https://www.iranintl.com/en/202603235823

Ghalibaf 'a hot option' for White House - Politico

4 hours ago

The Trump administration isquietly weighing Iran’s parliament speaker as a potential partner — and even a future leader— as thepresident signals a shift from military pressure toward a negotiated endgame, according to a report by Politico.

The report cites two officials who suggestat least some in the White House see Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf as a workable partnerwho could lead Iran and negotiate with the Trump administration in the war’s next phase.

But the White House hasnot committed to backing any one figureand is insteadassessing multiple candidates, the officials said.

“He’s a hot option,”one administration official said, cautioning that no decisions have been made.

“He’s one of the highest… But we got to test them, and we can’t rush into it.”

https://www.iranintl.com/en/202603233917

The funny thing about this is 1,000s of analysts around the world were trying to figure out what Trump was doing. All he was doing was what he talked about this morning! KEK

>>24418393, >>24418396 Obama openly admitting his unAffordable Care Act was a “first step” towards socialized medicine. Cloward Piven strategy.PN

As an insurance broker for 33 years, Obama ruined people’s lives, the premiums were automatically increased to 20%-30% and more. If older then 29, the premiums increased dramatically for anyone at 30 and older to 64. All it did is have many people having to drop their insurance because it was too expensive. Further the poor got a super shitty plan that insurance companies refused to be involved.

Everything Obama did to the U.S. and its people to increase sickness, poverty and lack of true medical care. He wanted us all dead and broke.

Correct Medical healthcare was dropped for profit for insurance companies and their leaders.

Plus he ruined the insurance industry when it was supposed to protect the people, which it didn’t when that shit Death plan was rolled out by Obama and Greedy Insurance company leaders.

So Fuck You Obama and your Greedy and evil Insurance company elites; btw those worked at lower levels in those companies were just as pissed as insurance brokers.

And let’s never forget, it was was SC Chief Justice John Roberts, with his vote betrayed America and said it was legal, which was a big fat lie, everyone knew it. So John Roberts is responsible for the theft of insurance companies and the sickness and death that “his approval allowed”!

As you can see, I still have a ton of anger about this crime.

Kushner’s Mideast-backed fund assets jump to $6.2 billion

Story by Sridhar Natarajan • 10h

(Bloomberg) – Affinity Partners — the investment firm Jared Kushner runs with money gathered from government-backed funds across the Middle East — saw assets jump nearly 30% last year, according to a regulatory filing seen by Bloomberg.

The fund’s assets soared to $6.2 billion at the end of 2025, the filing shows, with the increase reflecting gains the fund recorded on some of its investments.

Kushner, who is married to US President Donald Trump’s oldest daughter,has faced renewed scrutiny from lawmakers over the fund’s dealings in recent days after he was recently appointed as Trump’s new peace envoy to the Middle East. But concerns about potential conflicts of interest have dogged the entity since Kushner set it up shortly after the president’s first term in the White House.

About 99% of Affinity Partners’ assets belong to non-US investors, according to the filing. It counts funds tied to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar among its key backers.

The firm, which has already deployed a majority of its funds, was in talks to raise money for a new vehicle, and held talks with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund about the matter. It has since reversed course,and does not intend to take in any additional capital while Kushner is volunteering for the government, according to Ian Brekke, Affinity’s chief legal officer.

A pair of Democratic lawmakers last week sought additional details on Kushner’s dealing with the Middle East investment vehicles while simultaneously negotiating foreign policy in the region.

“Jared Kushner ​has complied with ​all applicable laws and ​requirements, and any ​suggestion ​otherwise ​is false,” Brekke said in a statement. “​Jared has ​always operated ​in the best interests ​of ​the United States.”

Kushner has been ensconced in some of the most critical diplomatic negotiations and private business deals in Trump’s second term. The president tapped Kushner to broker peace deals in Ukraine and Iran, just days before starting the bombardment of Iran.

On the business front, Kushner has found himself a spot in some of the most prominent deals. Affinity Partners and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund struck a $55 billion deal to acquire video game giant Electronic Arts. Kushner’s firm was also involved in backing Paramount Skydance Corp.’s $108 billion hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. before backing out of the deal.

Affinity has invested in more than two dozen companies with a net internal rate of return of 25% since inception, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing non-public information.

Affinity’s other investments include EGYM, a corporate wellness platform,as well as Tel Aviv-based Phoenix Financial. Another profitable bet has been QXO that’s led by Brad Jacobs, who authored the book How to Make a Few Billion Dollars, and then a sequel to it, How to Make a Few More Billion Dollars, that came out last year.

The firm’s strategy is heavily driven by investing in transitions spurred by geopolitical risks, according to its filing. It used Bank of America Corp., First Horizon Bank and Israeli bank Mizrahi Tefahot as a custodian of its assets, the filing shows.

(https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/ar-AA1ZdAlN

To be fair many House and Senate politicians do exactly the same thing, just because they are in government they are privy to big money deals.

Christopher Columbus statue Trump added near White House is replica of one downed by protesters

Updated on: March 23, 2026

A statue of Christopher Columbus has been placed on the grounds of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House— the latest effort by the Trump administration to honor the explorerwhose legacy has drawn increasing criticism in recent years.fuck you assholes!

The statue is a replica of one that was tossed into Baltimore's harbor in 2020 during Mr. Trump's first termat a time of nationwide protests against institutional racism.

"In this White House, Christopher Columbus is a hero, and President Trump will ensure he's honored as such for generations to come," the White House posted on X.

"In this White House, Christopher Columbus is a hero, and President Trump will ensure he's honored as such for generations to come," the White House posted on X.

President Trump endorses a traditional view of Columbus which celebrates his 1492 voyage as the beginning of a European presence in the Americas and the development of the modern economic and political order. But in recent years, Columbus also has been recognized as a primary example of Western Europe's conquest of the New World, its resources and native people.

"We are delighted the statue has found a place where it can peacefully shine and be protected," said John Pica, a Maryland lobbyist and president of the Italian American Organizations United, which owns the statue and agreed to loan it to the federal government for placement at or near the White House.

The statue, made mostly of marble, was created by Will Hemsley, a sculptor based in Centreville on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

The original statue was toppled by protesters on July 4, 2020, and thrown into Baltimore's Inner Harbor after anger boiled over following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police. It was one of many statues of Columbus that were vandalized around the same time, with protesters saying the Italian explorer was responsible for the genocide and exploitation of native peoples in the Americas.

Maryland House of Delegates member Nino Mangione, who was involved in efforts to recover the statue from Baltimore's harbor, celebrated the decision to feature it in such a prominent new location.

"It is a thrill and an honor to see his likeness in Washington, D.C., where millions can see it and reflect on his contributions to the United States of America," Mangione said in a statement. He criticized those he called "haters and screamers who want to silence our voices" and "erase our history," and wrote: "The placement of this statue sends a strong message to those individuals — you will not prevail in America."

In recent years, some people, institutions and government entities have displaced Columbus Day with recognition of Indigenous Peoples Day. President Joe Biden in 2021 became the first U.S. president to mark Indigenous Peoples Daywith a proclamation.

Mr. Trump dismisses the shift on Columbus as an example of "left-wing arsonists" bending history and twisting Americans' collective memory."I'm bringing Columbus Day back from the ashes," he declared last April.

Echoing his 2024 campaign rhetoric, he complained that "Democrats did everything possible to destroy Christopher Columbus, his reputation, and all of the Italians that love him so much."

(https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-statue-christopher-columbus-near-white-house/

CBS hates everything about America