President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that the United States Navy would begin blockading the Strait of Hormuz, effectively sealing off Iran’s primary maritime artery, an action that will cripple the Iranian regime’s capacity to resist the United States. “The meeting went well, most points were agreed to, but the only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not,” President Trump stated. “Effective immediately, the United States Navy … will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz.” The president characterized Iran’s maritime behavior as “WORLD EXTORTION” and warned that any vessel paying an “illegal toll” to Iran would be denied safe passage. “Our Military will finish up the little that is left of Iran!” he added, noting that U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) will begin full enforcement on Monday, April 13, at 10:00 a.m. ET. While the military rhetoric is sharp, Miad Maleki, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and former U.S. sanctions strategist, warns that the economic consequences for Tehran will be absolute. Maleki calculates that the blockade will inflict roughly $435 million in combined economic damage every single day—totaling a staggering $13 billion per month. According to Maleki, over 90% of Iran’s $109.7 billion in annual trade transits the Persian Gulf. With oil and gas accounting for 80% of government export earnings and 23.7% of the national GDP, the closure of the Strait “zeroes this out overnight.” The statistics provided by Maleki paint a grim picture for Iran’s energy infrastructure. Kharg Island, which handles 92% of the country’s crude exports, generates between $53 billion and $78 billion in annual revenue. Under the blockade, the 1.5 million barrels per day Iran was exporting—valued at $139 million daily at wartime prices—will cease entirely. Furthermore, the petrochemical sector, which saw $19.7 billion in exports over a nine-month period in 2024/25, faces a daily loss of $54 million. Maleki notes that Iran’s non-oil exports, including minerals and metals, will lose another $79 million per day. The blockade targets the heart of Iranian logistics. The Shahid Rajaee port handles 53% of all cargo operations, while Imam Khomeini handles 58% of basic goods imports. Maleki argues that Iran’s attempts to bypass the Strait are “negligible.” The Jask bypass operates at only 70,000 barrels per day—a fraction of its intended 1 million barrel capacity—and the five Caspian ports combined can only handle 11 million tons of cargo compared to the 220 million tons that move through the Gulf. The internal impact is expected to be catastrophic. With food inflation hitting 105% in February 2026 and rice prices up sevenfold, the loss of $159 million in daily imports will accelerate a total currency collapse. The rial has already plummeted to 1.5 million per dollar, forcing the regime to issue a 10-million-rial banknote worth a mere $7. Perhaps most critically, Maleki points to a “storage clock.” Iran has roughly 20 million barrels of spare onshore storage capacity. At current production levels, this will fill in just 13 days. Once full, Iran must “shut in” its wells. Maleki warns this could cause “water coning,” permanently destroying 300,000 to 500,000 barrels per day of production capacity. This would result in a permanent loss of $9 billion to $15 billion in annual revenue, even if the blockade eventually ends. “The blockade,” Maleki concludes, “makes continued resistance economically impossible.” 1/10 The U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would cost Iran approximately $276M/day in lost exports and disrupt $159M/day in imports, a combined economic damage of ~$435M/day, or $13B/month. Over 90% of Iran's $109.7B in annual trade transits the Persian Gulf. Oil/gas… https://t.co/fOwhRltQhv — Miad Maleki (@miadmaleki) April 12, 2026

This article is part of Upstream, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you. *** She’s got 73 things she can’t eat. She has struggled with gut, immune, and skin disorders ever since she was an infant. Now, at just 18 years old, Shelby Gwinn is determined to heal her body, inspire others, and normalize the MAHA movement. Armed with bone broth, a red light therapy mat, and Philippians 4:13, this “crunchy” rising star is challenging modern medicine, starting with herself.  In the nano influencer sphere, Gwinn is refreshingly relatable. You won’t find a ring light or multi-step “get ready with me” skincare routine anywhere on her Instagram or blog. In fact, you might find her hanging out on a farm or launching her Turning Point USA chapter. Along with her family, she enjoys a supportive church community and a close circle of friends. And after spending years experimenting with all sorts of wellness remedies, she finally decided to follow her calling to study nutrition at the collegiate level. “I realized that no doctor had ever really been concerned with the root cause of my issues,” Gwinn told The Daily Wire, remembering her first appointment at a holistic clinic. “The doctor went over my bloodwork … discussing the results and what we could do about it. She didn’t prescribe me medicines or creams and tell me to come back in six weeks. The goal was to get to the root cause.” It was the moment Gwinn entered her MAHA era. After the Make America Healthy Again Commission issued a 2025 report detailing America’s childhood disease epidemic, the federal government put kids’ nutrition front and center with a focus on “whole, nutrient-dense foods,” balanced school meals, and the phasing out of petroleum-based food dyes. It might have been hard to see through all the Cheetos dust, but America was addicted to junk. “We must make America healthy again so our children live longer and healthier lives than we will,” NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said. Still, naturally colored Fruity Pebbles only have so much sway.   “Growing up we ate ‘normally,’” Gwinn recalled. “I loved all the junk food. Of course it was not 24/7 prepackaged ultra-processed foods. In our eyes, at the time, I’m sure we seemed fairly healthy.” Gwinn’s unrelenting allergies told a different story. When a traditional doctor’s prescription medications and injections couldn’t quell her chronic inflammation, Gwinn’s family went back to basics. “We were using homemade laundry detergents and had a water filter … That was the extent of our ‘crunchy,’” she said.  But she credits an excruciating bout of eczema at age 16 for transforming her life. “It sounds weird saying this, due to the fact it felt absolutely terrible at the time, but it was all for the better,” she said. “Through this learning process, we have rapidly changed things over the past few years. We are definitely what you would call an ingredient household. The supplement cabinet has definitely grown.” Also known as “snackless homes,” ingredient households stock things to make meals and snacks, not the premade snacks themselves. Chocolate chips, not Chips Ahoy; tortillas, not Totino’s Pizza Rolls. It minimizes packaging, preservatives, and GMOs for many families, but the strategy empowered Gwinn to uncover which foods were really irritating her system.  Gwinn tested positive for dysbiosis, or the imbalance of gut microorganisms that were wreaking havoc on her body. “The protocol for gut dysbiosis is called a gut reset. Part of this gut reset is to cut out every single one of my food sensitivities and allergies,” she said. After following a restricted diet for more than two years, she still makes adjustments to foods and supplements under medical supervision. She’s just searching for her own cure.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Shelby Gwinn (@shelbygwinn) But healing through diet isn’t without its challenges, especially for someone who enjoys the social part of sharing a meal. “It’s always awkward when you aren’t eating the same meal as everyone else at dinner,” Gwinn noted. But that hasn’t stopped her from making tough choices for her own good. “The greatest sacrifice I have made for my health is definitely stopping my sugar cravings,” Gwinn said, noting the discipline required to feel her best. Managing to avoid momentary temptation, she explained, “I have a severe sweet tooth. One little bite of a cake can lead to me eating two servings. A couple pieces of cake is just not worth the pain it will cause my skin and joints … That is motivation enough for me.” Of course, Gwinn is only human. She admitted, “I definitely miss being able to eat pizza and anything with dairy.” So, what does someone monitoring how every ingredient affects her system actually eat? Gwinn’s daily diet includes fresh, whole foods and proteins. “At the moment I am pretty much meat and grain based, with a few different veggies and fruits,” she said. The details? Gwinn loves bone broth for breakfast; ground beef with rice, or tortillas with black beans, and cauliflower or Brussels sprouts for lunch; and a dinner protein with veggies and homemade wheat bread. Don’t forget to fill up a bottle with filtered water. Want to try Shelby Gwinn’s favorite bread recipe for yourself? “My mom discovered Bread Beckers a couple months into my gut reset diet,” Gwinn says of Bread Beckers Basic Dough Recipe. “I never have an issue when I eat fresh ground organic wheat bread.” Use it as a base for sandwich loaves, dinner rolls, raisin bread, energy bars, and more! She doesn’t usually snack, but don’t write her off when it comes to comforting potatoes. “I also am a fry connoisseur,” she said. “I love potatoes. Often, I make homemade fries to go with my meals.”    View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Shelby Gwinn (@shelbygwinn) Leveraging activities that calm her nervous system, Gwinn weaves Bible study, art, and fitness into her regular routine. “I do at home workouts at least three days a week and I read my Bible. I have learned those two things relieve my stress the most,” she shared. “On the side, I am an artist. I have taken art classes since I was a little kid. It is one of my passions. A good nap also helps my body relax and recharge. If napping was a sport, I’d probably win.” Nearly 18% of American high school students have taken prescription drugs without a prescription. Painkillers and stimulants such as OxyContin, Percocet, Vicodin, codeine, Adderall, Ritalin, and Xanax all count toward the $800 billion pharmaceutical complex in the U.S. But there’s a glimmer of hope amid the chronic disease epidemic. According to the World Health Organization, roughly 80% of illnesses, such as premature heart disease, type II diabetes, and stroke, could be eliminated by simple upgrades in lifestyle habits and better nutrition. The same can be said for 20% of cancers. Maybe the solution is early education, not more subscription medication.  It’s uncharted territory, fronted by fresh faces who aren’t exactly credentialed — yet. But as the average American struggles to cover the rising cost of healthcare, and Big Pharma banks on even greater returns with A.I., rising next-generation MAHA stars like Shelby Gwinn lead the way toward a future we can all feel good about.

Calls to invoke the 25th Amendment have become a kind of political reflex — trotted out whenever opponents of a sitting president decide that sharp rhetoric, unconventional behavior, or controversial decision-making must somehow amount to incapacity. With Donald Trump, this refrain has reached predictable levels: he’s “unfit” or “unstable,” critics say, and therefore should be removed not through elections or even impeachment, but via the Constitution’s emergency mechanism for presidential disability. That argument fundamentally misunderstands what the 25th Amendment is and why it exists. Ratified in 1967 in the aftermath of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, the 25th Amendment was designed to address a narrow but serious problem: what happens when a president is incapable of exercising the powers of the office? Section 4, the most discussed (and most misunderstood) provision — and one that has never been invoked — allows the vice president and a majority of the cabinet to declare that the president is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.” Upon transmitting that declaration to Congress, the vice president immediately assumes the role of acting president. Crucially, the amendment anticipates disagreement. If the president contests the declaration, Congress must decide the issue, requiring a two-thirds vote in both houses to sustain the vice president’s judgment. That’s an extraordinarily high bar, reflecting the gravity of sidelining a duly elected president without impeachment. The text is clear: the concern is inability and incapacity, not unpopularity or controversy. It’s a mechanism for dealing with presidents who cannot function, not those whose personalities provoke opposition. Historical practice reinforces this understanding. The 25th Amendment has been invoked several times — under Section 3, which allows voluntary delegation of authority — in cases involving clear, temporary incapacity. In 1985, President Ronald Reagan had surgery for colon cancer and transferred power to Vice President George H.W. Bush for about eight hours. President George W. Bush invoked Section 3 twice, in 2002 and 2007, when he underwent colonoscopies requiring anesthesia. President Joe Biden did the same thing in 2021. In these cases, the respective vice presidents briefly served as “acting” president. They were textbook examples of the 25th Amendment’s purpose: a president temporarily unable to perform his duties due to a known, concrete medical condition. Even outside formal invocation, the amendment’s logic reflects lessons from earlier constitutional crises. Woodrow Wilson, after suffering a debilitating stroke in 1919, remained president in name only while his wife and aides effectively ran the executive branch. That episode — along with concerns raised after President Dwight Eisenhower’s heart attack — led to calls for constitutional reform, which Kennedy’s assassination finally triggered. In other words, this provision exists precisely because there have been presidents who were genuinely unable to govern due to physical or cognitive impairment. It’s not a catch-all remedy for political dissatisfaction. Which brings us to Donald Trump. One can oppose his policies, criticize his rhetoric, or argue that he shouldn’t be president. The Constitution provides a mechanism for that: elections. It also provides another mechanism for serious misconduct: impeachment. But outrage over a president’s behavior can’t magically transform into constitutional “inability.” Trump’s critics often claim that he’s erratic or mentally unstable. But these are political assertions, not medical diagnoses. More importantly, they’re not evidence of incapacity as the 25th Amendment contemplates it. There’s no indication that Trump is unable to understand his role, make decisions, or carry out the basic functions of the presidency. Indeed, whatever one thinks of his style, he’s behaving much as he did during his first term — hardly evidence of a sudden, disqualifying decline. The contrast with genuinely incapacitated presidents is stark. Wilson was physically and neurologically impaired to the point of being unable to govern. More recently, Biden’s cognitive decline prompted debate precisely because it raised questions about whether he could perform the job’s demands. Those are the kinds of situations the 25th Amendment is meant to address: actual inability, not partisan disgust. To stretch the amendment to cover unconventional leadership would be to weaponize it, turning a safeguard for emergencies into a tool for political maneuvering. That would not only distort the Constitution but also set a dangerous precedent, inviting future cabinets and vice presidents to attempt end-runs around elections whenever tensions run high. Trump’s opponents are entirely within their rights to argue that he is unfit for office. They can make that case to Congress and ultimately to voters. They can even continue to deploy the language of “craziness” in the rough-and-tumble of political debate. But they shouldn’t pretend that such rhetoric satisfies the legal standard for removing a president under the 25th Amendment. * * * Ilya Shapiro is director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute, contributing editor of City Journal, senior counsel to Burke Law Group, PLLC, and author, most recently, of Lawless: The Miseducation of America’s Elites. He also writes the Shapiro’s Gavel newsletter.

The Department of Homeland Security confirmed on Sunday that a federal investigation into Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) included reports that he’d hired — and then lied about — a Brazilian nanny who was living in the United States illegally. POLITICO’s Dan Lippman broke the story, reporting on Sunday that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) had referred allegations to law enforcement at DHS — and the department issued a response from the official X account. “USCIS has been collecting information on the allegations involving Congressman Eric Swalwell hiring of a Brazilian national as a nanny without lawful work authorization. @USCIS has referred this matter to DHS law enforcement for investigation. No one is above the law, including a member of Congress,” the post read. USCIS has been collecting information on the allegations involving Congressman Eric Swalwell hiring of a Brazilian national as a nanny without lawful work authorization.@USCIS has referred this matter to DHS law enforcement for investigation. No one is above the law, including… https://t.co/yFE4DeI3aC — Homeland Security (@DHSgov) April 12, 2026 The news comes as multiple other investigations are already in play — and as the California congressman and gubernatorial candidate is also facing several accusations of inappropriate sexual behavior, ranging from unwanted attention to at least one claim of rape from a former staffer. The Manhattan district attorney opened an investigation into Swalwell on Saturday after learning that on of the women accusing him of sexual misconduct lived in New York. Weeks earlier, the Justice Department had opened an unrelated investigation into the gubernatorial hopeful, alleging mortgage fraud. Since the accusations began to drop on Friday, Swalwell’s friends and colleagues have quickly deserted him. Democrats in Congress withdrew their support for his gubernatorial run, withdrawing their endorsements publicly and calling on him to drop out of the race. Some took that a step further and called on him to resign his congressional seat – and a few have said that, if given the opportunity, they would cast a vote to expel him from the legislative body. His employees followed, with a group of senior staffers from both his congressional office and his gubernatorial campaign office issuing a joint memo and resigning en masse. They also called on voters to withdraw support from Swalwell. Swalwell has denied the accusations, calling them “flat false” and voting to fight back with everything that he has.

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) announced on Sunday evening, amid multiple accusations of inappropriate sexual behavior and at least one accusation of rape, that he was suspending his campaign for the California governorship. “I am suspending my campaign for Governor,” Swalwell announced in an X post. “To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past. I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s.” I am suspending my campaign for Governor. To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past. I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s. — Eric Swalwell (@ericswalwell) April 13, 2026 Swalwell once again declared his innocence — as he had one day prior in a video announcing his plan to fight the accusations against him, which he described as “flat false.” Since Friday, Swalwell has been hit with several accusations ranging from inappropriate and sexually charged messages to at least one accusation of rape. In the time elapsed since the first accusations were publicly reported, a number of elected Democrats have withdrawn their support for his gubernatorial campaign and have called for him to bow out of the race. Others have taken that a step further and have suggested that he also resign his congressional seat — and some have said that they would, should the opportunity arise, vote to expel him from Congress. The California congressman’s announcement comes as several other investigations are already underway — including a DHS investigation into reports that he hired a Brazilian nanny and then lied about the fact that she was living in the United States illegally. His employees followed suit, with a group of senior staffers from both his congressional office and his gubernatorial campaign office issuing a joint memo on Saturday and resigning en masse. They withdrew all support from Swalwell and promised to stand with their former colleagues who had come forward to accuse him — and they also  called on voters to withdraw support from Swalwell.