USA - We are approaching a reckoning. We have seen this convergence before in Hitler’s Germany, in Stalin’s Russia, in Mussolini’s Italy, and in Mao’s China: the rise of strongmen and demagogues, the ascendency of profit-driven politics over deep-seated principles, the warring nationalism that seeks to divide and conquer, the callous disregard for basic human rights and dignity, and the silence of people who should know better. Yet no matter how many times the world has been down this road before, we can’t seem to avoid repeating the deadly mistakes of the past.

USA - Electric cars are currently being propped up with government incentives and subsidies due to the Democrats’ mad dash towards a green future. A new report reveals that if you take away those government programs, these cars are far more expensive than people realize. This is, of course, all part of their plan. They want to make it too expensive for most people to even own a car in the future. Cars are for elites. It’s public transportation for the rest of us.

JAPAN - 'People are finally seeing reality' about electric vehicle demand, according to Toyota's CEO, whose company sat out the frantic EV investment of its competitors in the past few years. While GM, Ford, and many other legacy automakers were pouring billions in EV development and battery factory joint ventures in the last few years, trying to catch up to Tesla, Toyota has been taking it slow. Its CEOs have argued that not only are the public and infrastructure still not ready for a rapid transition to entirely electric mobility, but automakers will have a hard time turning a profit making electric cars after early adopters in developed countries are done buying.

ISRAEL - Is it possible that the war in the Middle East could eventually go nuclear? If the fighting could have been limited to just Israel and Hamas, I think that there would have been a zero percent chance of Israel using nuclear weapons. But now it appears that Hezbollah, Syria, Iran and potentially other parties are likely to get involved too, and that means that Israel will literally be fighting a war of national survival. If it gets to a point where the Israelis think that they could potentially be overrun by their enemies, they aren’t going to leave their most powerful weapons on the shelf. For Israel’s enemies, this is the opportunity that they have been anticipating for so long. They think that they will finally have a shot at wiping Israel off the map.

LEBANON - Iran-backed terror group that could join war in the region is ten times stronger than Hamas, with 200,000 missiles, rockets and mortars. Since Hamas launched its ruthless attacks on Israeli towns and cities on October 7, Israel's Defence Forces have conducted a non-stop bombardment of the Gaza Strip designed to grind down the terrorist cells ahead of a planned ground assault. But while tens of thousands of Israeli troops, battalions of tanks and heavy artillery begin to mass along the border with Gaza, many fear that the real threat is found 125 miles to the north.

ISRAEL - Israel stopped issuing visas to UN officials Wednesday, a day after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appeared to say Hamas’s murderous October 7 assault on southern Israel was brought on by Israeli occupation. The development came as Israeli officials continued to rail against the UN chief and demand his apology or resignation, with a senior lawmaker branding his words “truly insane” and adding that they were fanning the flames of antisemitism. The chairman of Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem Holocaust museum accused Guterres of having “failed the test” of the refrain “Never again.”

IRAN - Iran’s president on Tuesday expressed regret at a “lack of unity” among Muslim countries in response to the war between its arch-foe Israel and Gaza’s rulers Hamas. Ebrahim Raisi said greater coordination across the Muslim world could have stopped Israel’s ongoing bombing of the Gaza Strip, which followed Hamas terrorists’ brutal attacks that killed some 1,400 people in Israeli territory, most of them civilians.

USA - The Pentagon is deploying two carrier strike groups, eleven Burke-class destroyers, a number of Ticonderoga-class cruisers, amphibious assault ships, THAAD and Patriot missile defense systems, multiple squadrons of fighter jets, strategic bombers, and undisclosed assets to the Middle East. The Pentagon expects Iranian proxies to continue to target US troops in the region and has already stated that they will respond "decisively." What's the probability that this escalates into a war between the United States and Iran?

USA - Really bad policies lead to really bad consequences, and our leaders have been making absolutely disastrous decisions for decades. As a result, the streets of America are now teeming with thieves, drug addicts, prostitutes, violent criminals and sexual predators. We have raised an entire generation of young Americans that has no moral foundation whatsoever, and every day we are adding even more immigrants from third world countries to the mix. Many of those immigrants have no intention of following our laws, and they are fueling the explosive growth of criminal gangs all over the nation. On top of everything else, the war in the Middle East threatens to spark an unprecedented wave of domestic terror attacks here in the United States. Millions of radical Muslims now live in this country, and when the time comes many of them will not hesitate to commit acts of violence.

ISRAEL - Fighting appears to be ramping back up as Hamas launched a massive rocket barrage at Israel, wounding five and sending more than one million running for shelter. Israelis were wounded in separate incidents in Holon, Tel Aviv, Kfar Saba, Be'er Yaakov, and Yavne while the barrage sent more than one million running for cover. All of the wounded were said to be lightly injured. Sirens were also heard in the northern towns of Elkosh and Netua near the border with Lebanon. Israel said it targeted three terror cells and a Hezbollah position in southern Lebanon earlier today. The Iranian-backed terror group has been sporadically exchanging fire with the IDF since Hamas attacked on October 7. Although Israel's Iron Dome air defense system typically destroys many of the incoming rockets, it can be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of projectiles fired.

ISRAEL - Gaza terrorists have fired Hamas's "powerful new weapon" at an Israeli resort town full of innocent civilians in the latest escalation in the ongoing conflict. The attack has been carried out by the Al-Qassam Brigades - the military wing of Hamas and thought to be the largest and best-equipped group operating within Gaza today - according to a post on Telegram. The group pounded the resort town of Eilat with an Ayyash 250 missile - considered to be the longest-range missile in Hamas's arsenal. This Telegram post, translated from Iranian, read: "Al-Qassam Brigades bombard 'Eilat' with an A,yyash 250 missile in response to the Zionist massacres against innocent civilians."

IRAN - Iranian and US relations are threatening to boil over to the point where a much bigger conflict could erupt across the Middle East. There are fears of a full-scale "apocalyptic" Middle East conflict triggered by Iran becoming directly involved in the Israel and Hamas [conflict] as tensions with the US skyrocket. The US has been quick to condemn the Hamas attacks on Israel and is building a massive military presence in the Middle East as it looks to send a strong message to Iran to stay out of the escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas.

MIDDLE EAST - The Israel-Hamas conflict, characterized as a 'black swan event' in the oil market, holds the potential to propel oil prices to $150 per barrel. This possibility is rooted in the specter of regional entanglement, particularly involving Iran. Apprehensions surround Iran's potential support for Hamas through advanced weaponry, further escalating the conflict. Moreover, Iran's influence on Hezbollah may open a second front against Israel, possibly prompting Israeli strikes on Iran. In response, Iran could opt to close the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global oil passage. Such an act would disrupt oil supplies, leading to price surges and contributing to inflation via increased energy costs.

ISRAEL - Netanyahu has drawn the ire of Israel's military chiefs by delaying the invasion of Gaza to eliminate Hamas, with western allies in the EU pushing for a ceasefire. Israel's Prime Minister clashed with leading figures in the country's defence forces over his decision to delay the incursion, which his military chiefs are said to be eager to start, the Telegraph reports. Meanwhile some member states within the European Union have pushed for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and terror group Hamas in order to deliver more humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians in the besieged Gaza Strip. Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief, said he backed a call by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for a 'humanitarian pause', and added that it would give leaders more time to negotiate the release of the more than 200 hostages held captive by Hamas.

VATICAN - In what’s being touted as a first for a Jewish organization, the World Jewish Congress advocacy group opened an office in Vatican City to liaise with Catholic leaders and further Catholic-Jewish relations. WJC President Ronald Lauder visited Pope Francis while inaugurating the organization’s “representative office to the Holy See” on Thursday. Lauder, a billionaire heir to the Estée Lauder fortune and a longtime Republican donor, presented the pope with a document the WJC called “Kishreinu,” meaning “our bond” in Hebrew. The document “encapsulates the intricate historical and cultural tapestry binding Jewish and Catholic communities around the globe,” the WJC said in a press release.