Blue States and Red Ink: Massachusetts Is the Latest Losing Billions in Taxes After ‘Soaking the Rich’

The Iran war entered its 29th day on Saturday as Ansar Allah, the Yemeni armed movement commonly known as the Houthis, said Saturday it had entered the war directly by launching a barrage of ballistic missiles at what it described as sensitive Israeli military targets, opening a new front in the regional conflict. In a statement, the group said the attack was carried out in support of Iran and allied “resistance” forces in Lebanon, Iraq, and Palestine, citing continued U.S.–Israeli strikes on infrastructure and what it described as massacres across multiple fronts. The Houthis did not specify whether they intended to resume operations in the Red Sea or the Bab al-Mandab Strait. During its last Red Sea campaign, the Houthis drove container ship transits through the Bab al-Mandab down by roughly 90 percent, while traffic through the Suez corridor — which normally carries about 12 to 15 percent of global trade — fell by an estimated 50 to 70 percent at the peak of the disruption. At the G7 conference on Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Tehran “may decide that they want to set up a tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz.” Trackers like Lloyd’s List had reported on Wednesday that such a toll has already been imposed. Since March 13, 26 vessels seem to have transited the Strait of Hormuz through a pre-approved IRGC “toll booth” corridor.  Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said at a press conference on Saturday that an agreement has been reached to allow Thai oil tankers to transit safely through Hormuz. Iran claimed one of its most significant attacks on U.S. forces since the conflict began, saying it struck Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia overnight, reportedly wounding 12 U.S. troops and destroying two refueling aircraft. Israeli strikes across Iran’s industrial sector on Friday hit multiple civilian-linked sites, including the Mobarakeh Steel complex in Isfahan, Khuzestan Steel in the southwest, a cement mine in Firouzabad, other industrial sites in Kheirabad, and a warehouse at the Mashhad airport. Iran’s foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi responded to the attacks in a post on X, saying “Israel claims it acted in coordination with the U.S.” and that the attacks contradicted President Donald Trump’s “extended deadline for diplomacy.” The foreign minister warned that “Iran will exact HEAVY price for Israeli crimes” A spokesperson for Kuwait’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation said on Saturday morning Kuwait International Airport was hit by several drones, damaging its radar system but causing no casualties. Another wave of strikes was reported in Bahrain on Saturday, with claims that an oil facility linked to BAPCO, the kingdom’s state energy company, was hit. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said at a Miami business forum on Friday that he expects Iran to respond to Washington’s 15-point peace plan and predicted talks could take place “this week.” Echoing Trump, Witkoff claimed that the passage of ten oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz was a “very, very good sign” of Iranian willingness to engage. Joint Maritime Information Center data shows that a total of just 5 vessels — inbound or outbound — have passed across the Strait in the three days preceding Trump’s claim of 10 oil tankers. Drop Site reported Friday that Iran has rejected the U.S. framework for ending the war, insisting it has submitted its own terms and will decide when the conflict ends. A senior Iranian official told Drop Site, “The Americans are not prepared to engage in what can genuinely be called negotiations…They are clearly being disingenuous.” Iran has consistently rejected what it sees as a temporary ceasefire similar to the U.S.-backed agreement that ended the “12-Day War” in June 2025, which Tehran says only bought time for a larger offensive. According to a senior Iranian official quoted by Drop Site, Tehran’s terms for permanently ending the war include long-term guarantees against U.S. and Israeli attacks, extension of any ceasefire to Lebanon, Iraq, and Palestinian territories, sanctions relief, and continued Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz. “They’re trying to frame Iran as a country that refuses to negotiate, while in reality we have a clear, logical position,” the official said. An Israeli ​strike on ‌a media car in ​southern ​Lebanon killed at ⁠three ​​journalists on Saturday morning. In a post on X, the IDF called one of the journalist victims, Ali Hassan Shaib, a “terrorist,” and said he was killed because he reported on IDF “troop positions in southern Lebanon” and talked to members of “Hezbollah.” Journalists maintain contact with both state and non-state actors in order to report on the conflicts they cover. Lebanon’s Health Ministry says 1,142 people have been killed and 3,315 injured since the start of the war. The post Iran War Enters 29th Day: Yemen’s Houthis Enter War appeared first on The American Conservative.

From March 29 to April 5 this year, most of the Christian world enters into the holiest days of their calendar year. These are the days that commemorate the final days of the life of Jesus. Investigating what is remembered and celebrated can be both practically impactful and spiritually inspiring. On Palm Sunday, Jesus entered into Jerusalem riding on a donkey. This was a specific and calculated choice evoking the Old Testament prophecies from Zechariah. The prophet tells Israel that “your king is coming to you, a just savior is he, Humble, and riding on a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9). The miracle worker and famous preacher enters Jerusalem during Passover, the busiest time of year for the ancient city. He chooses a donkey (the symbol for peace) rather than the horse (known as the animal of strength for military leaders). The crowds welcome him, but they will be the very crowd that rejects and deserts him on the day of his trial. Palm Sunday reminds humanity that we can too often be noncommittal about our faith. Our commitment to prayer and holiness often wavers when we hear what the crowds are saying. Our faith often collapses the moment we must face sacrifice and ostracization. We blend into the masses rather than stand out and defend our faith. Four days later, on Holy Thursday, Jesus celebrates his last meal with his disciples. But before doing so, he left them a sign that they are directed to follow. He got on his hands and knees and washed the feet of the disciples (John 13). The God of the universe placed himself in the lowest position to showcase that love is sacrificial. Then he took bread and wine, said the blessing, and told his disciples that the bread was his body and the wine was his blood. Before he was arrested, beaten, and killed, Jesus laid down his life. His mission was coming to its culmination. In order to remain with us always, he left the gift of the Eucharist: his body, blood, soul, and divinity. When Jesus said that the bread and wine become his body and blood—they truly change. We take Jesus at his word. He was not speaking poetically. Through Christ’s power, handed down to the priest through the generations, the bread and wine become his body and blood. The proposal of the Catholic Church is that Jesus waits for us in the Eucharist. In every tabernacle across the globe, he desires to meet us and hear from us. The challenge is to make time for him rather than ignore him as the disciples did on his final day before his crucifixion. We must be firm in our hope that the resurrection has the last say over any pain and suffering. Following the Last Supper, Jesus leads his disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane. Here sweating blood as he considers his forthcoming pain (Luke 22:39-46). There he is arrested and brought to several Jewish leaders before he lands in front of Pilate on Good Friday. Once he is convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death by crucifixion, he is brought to be scourged. Prisoners would have been stripped completely naked and chained by their wrists to a post or wall. Two strong soldiers would alternate blows as they whipped him with a flagrum, a torture device similar to and more severe than a “cat of nine tails.” This was a whip with straps that had objects tied to the end of each strap. At the end of each strap would have been a piece of glass, rock, bone, or metal object. The intention of the soldier was to hit the prisoner so hard that one of these sharp objects would dig into the flesh of the man. Then the soldier would pull back the whip, literally ripping out tendons and muscles from his face down to his feet. Recent medical analysis reports that the incisions Jesus would have endured during the scourging would have needed roughly two thousand stitches to repair. For this reason, many sources report that prisoners would often died during the scourging, not even making it to crucifixion. Now a cross beam weighing between 150-300 pounds is placed on Jesus’ shoulders, and he carries it a half-mile to his place of death. Along the way, he is continually mocked and whipped. Soldiers held Jesus down as they nailed 6-to-9-inch nails through his hands and feet. Then the cross would have been lifted about ten feet high in the air for all to see and mock. Ultimately, Jesus dies after hanging on the cross for nearly three hours. He would have died of asphyxiation or suffocation as he could no longer lift his beaten body up to breathe. It is the tremendous suffering of Jesus that stands out among these holiest of days. Despite being humiliated, deserted, rejected, mocked, and brutally beaten he remains calm and forgives his enemies. He loved us to the end. For this reason, the crosses that adorn homes, churches, and necklaces serve as reminders of the love that our God has for us. They are invitations to keep God at the center of our lives and become mirrors to His love in our homes and communities. If we do that, then this week will make us into reflections of the heart of God. I can’t think of a time when we need that more. We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post The First Holy Week appeared first on The Daily Signal.