On 4/25/2026 at 8:11 PM, janea4old said:

I believe a man was arrested. I believe Wolf Blitzer heard several loud sounds he believed to be gunshots.

But beyond that, who knows what really happened.

hmmmm....

Edited April 28Apr 28 by janea4old

Everyone on this Earth should watch this... if you haven't. It's so chilling.

1 hour ago, Maxim said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZzsaqC8n_U
Everyone on this Earth should watch this... if you haven't. It's so chilling.

I got a message saying "not available in your country"
(not available to USA viewers).

I did some digging and discovered that it was this:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002qwxp
Here in the USA, it does let me read the full description there on the BBC website;
but it still won't let me view the embedded 58-minute video.

description:

Our Man in Moscow

Russia has become one of the most hostile places in the world to be a journalist, where reporters face threats of intimidation, expulsion and imprisonment. Now, Panorama follows a year in the life of the BBC’s Russia editor, Steve Rosenberg, as he tries to walk the tightrope during a time of geopolitical upheaval.

He is confronted by police, suspected spies pop up, and local TV crews doorstep him – all while doing his job as a reporter. Steve also reflects on how Russia has changed in the more than 30 years he has been living there. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, he hosted the country’s Eurovision Song Contest, but now he is mocked on national television, with one pundit describing him as an enemy of the state.

--
*** update: found a copy viewable in USA (Link)

.

Edited April 28Apr 28 by janea4old

Okay I found the copy and linked it in above post. Don't have time to watch right now but I'll catch it later.

3 hours ago, janea4old said:

I got a message saying "not available in your country"
(not available to USA viewers).

I did some digging and discovered that it was this:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002qwxp
Here in the USA, it does let me read the full description there on the BBC website;
but it still won't let me view the embedded 58-minute video.

description:

Our Man in Moscow

Russia has become one of the most hostile places in the world to be a journalist, where reporters face threats of intimidation, expulsion and imprisonment. Now, Panorama follows a year in the life of the BBC’s Russia editor, Steve Rosenberg, as he tries to walk the tightrope during a time of geopolitical upheaval.

He is confronted by police, suspected spies pop up, and local TV crews doorstep him – all while doing his job as a reporter. Steve also reflects on how Russia has changed in the more than 30 years he has been living there. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, he hosted the country’s Eurovision Song Contest, but now he is mocked on national television, with one pundit describing him as an enemy of the state.

--
*** update: found a copy viewable in USA (Link)

.

Thank you so much for providing the viewable in USA link @janea4old !

US war in Iran has cost $25 billion so far, says Pentagon comptroller

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-war-iran-has-cost-25-billion-so-far-says-pentagon-official-2026-04-29/

April 29 (Reuters) - The United States' war in Iran has cost $25 billion so far, a senior Pentagon official said on Wednesday, providing the first official estimate of the military's ‌price tag for the conflict. Jules Hurst, who is performing the duties of the comptroller, told lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee that most of that money was for munitions.

Hurst did not detail what that cost estimate included and whether it took into account the projected costs of rebuilding and repairing ⁠base infrastructure in the Middle East damaged in the conflict.

But it is unclear how the Pentagon arrived at the $25 billion amount given that a source had told Reuters last month that President Donald Trump's administration estimated that the first six days of the war had cost the United States at least $11.3 billion.

25 billion dollars in two months.
Personally I imagine (without proof) that it's likely higher than that.

How many people could that feed? How many people could have received medical care?

Edited April 29Apr 29 by janea4old

https://www.reuters.com/world/us-supreme-court-blocks-louisiana-voting-map-with-second-black-majority-district-2026-04-29/

WASHINGTON, April 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday gutted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act - making it harder for minorities to challenge electoral maps as racially discriminatory under the landmark civil rights law - in a victory for Louisiana Republicans and President Donald Trump's administration.

The court, in a 6-3 ruling powered by its conservative members, blocked an electoral map that had given Louisiana a second Black-majority U.S. congressional district. With November congressional elections looming, the decision could prompt Republican-led states to seek to redraw electoral maps in an effort to put at ‌risk seats considered safely Democratic.

Justice Elena Kagan, in a dissent joined by the two other liberal justices, said the ruling rendered the Voting Rights Act "all but a dead letter," and predicted "grave" consequences.

"Under the court's new view of Section 2, a state can, without legal consequence, systematically dilute minority citizens' voting power," Kagan wrote. "Of course, the majority does not announce today's holding that way. Its opinion is understated, even antiseptic. The majority claims only to be 'updating' our Section 2 law, as though through a few technical tweaks."

"But in fact, those 'updates' eviscerate the law, so that it will not remedy even the classic example of vote dilution given above," Kagan added.

Edited April 29Apr 29 by janea4old

1 hour ago, janea4old said:

How many people could that feed? How many people could have received medical care?

@DRW50 says it best: they won't be satisfied 'til we're all dead.

I appreciate Aaron Rupar (atrupar) for posting clips on bsky and twitter of all the hearings, press conferences, speeches, etc etc etc.

I'm choosing to avoid, when possible, embedding things that have Tr*ump's face. Just my personal choice. I just don't want to see that face. So I'll just post the text of atrupar's posts and a link.

Aaron Rupar ‪@atrupar.com‬
https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3mknppxuqju2d

Q: In light of the SCOTUS ruling on the Voting Rights Act, do you want Republican states to look at redrawing congressional districts before the midterms?

TRUMP: When did it come out? I've been with contractors because we're trying to get the ballroom built ahead of schedule. Tell me what happened

Karla Mosley on what happened with the Supreme Court dismantling part of the Voting Rights Act

https://www.instagram.com/p/DXuzuKYj2ye/

April 29, 2026
karlamose (Karla Mosley)

Supreme Court sucks. Nothing new. Racism is real. Just another Wednesday.

We stay steady and consistent in our actions. Show up. And also, invest in community. Because, like, all power to people and stuff. Ya dig?

P.S. End of the video said “most of all just stay engaged” ❤️

P.P.S. Where is the Caribbean Ocean? 😂😂

Edited April 30Apr 30 by janea4old

I suppose I could have posted this on the journalism thread; but posting here on the politics thread instead -- because it is about what happened in politics today.

Today, independent journalist Aaron Rupar (atrupar) watched and clipped all of these things and posted them for everyone. In one single day, he did clips of these events and/or public interviews about these events:

• Supreme Court dismantling the Voting Rights Act;

• Hegseth testifying in Congress about his (mis)handling of the military;

• Tr*mp doing a thing with the astronauts at the White House that he made about himself and not them, and during which the press asked him questions about many topics;

• Another statement from officials about the suspect from the Correspondents Dinner;

• people talking about the bunker-ballroom that Tr*mp wants to build;

• more of Tr*mp's unhinged social media posts;

• various officials who were guests on news shows on Fox, MSNow, CNN, etc,;

• Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota;

• dispute about the leadership of the Federal Reserve;

• a new indictment of James Comey;

• and some other stuff.

All this happened (or was discussed publicly) within one day. Well lots more happened worldwide, but that's what he posted clips from.

There was an interview with atrupar a while back - he watches multiple channels simultaneously all day, clipping whatever seems relevant and then posting the clips in real time.

I don't normally promote anyone -- but this seems more worth subscribing to -- better than some other things. I do like that he posts his clips on bsky and twitter for everyone to read for free, and takes voluntary donations. I don't have a bsky account but can read all his public posts without logging into anything.
I also like that he gives his honest opinion (left of center) and doesn't do the "both-sides" bull.
("Public Notice" is the name of his website that has articles and opinion columns from various contributors.)

Edited April 30Apr 30 by janea4old

Posting this in the Politics forum for the obvious connection. At this rate, everyone needs to just cancel Amazon altogether:

https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/apprentice-reboot-donald-trump-jr-host-amazon-1236733857/

re: the Secret Service agent who received a shot in his bullet-proof vest at the White House Correspondents Dinner. The speculation that it was friendly fire-- that appears to be true. The arrested suspect maybe fired one shot, if any, and it didn't hit anyone. Afterwards, (supposedly) the suspect's shotgun was examined and it was mostly full, with one spent cartridge.

The suspect had typed or written a letter in his hotel room earlier that evening, in which he claimed that he was using buckshot instead of bullets, to minimize casualties -- his letter said that, but don't know if that's true or not.

At this point, all we know is that he ran through the checkpoint carrying a shotgun.

What's really important is that this metal detector (magnometer?) checkpoint was on a different floor from the ballroom. You had to pass through this checkpoint to even reach the staircase. He was not near the ballroom when caught, not even on the same floor. He was stopped near the top of the stairs. The attendees who heard gunfire -- they heard the sound from the gunfire at the top of the stairs. There was no gunfire on the level of the ballroom.

Even the New York Times and the Washington Post are saying now that there's no evidence that the Secret Service agent was shot by the suspect.

archive (non-paywall) copy of NY Times article
https://archive.is/FjSYw

archive (non-paywall) copy of Washington Post detailed article.
https://archive.ph/fJ5vm
This WaPo article does an-indepth analysis of security footage of the incident and describes everything as clearly as possible.

Edited April 30Apr 30 by janea4old