Israel says Iran’s intelligence chief Esmail Khatib was eliminated overnight as the pace of top leadership killings accelerates. Iran says upstream oil and gas assets are under attack for the first time since the war began and readies retaliatory action against oil/gas assets in the Gulf area, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Qatar […] The post Iran Says Upstream Oil and Gas Assets Are Under Attack appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Republican Senator Rick Scott is set to introduce legislation that would spell major financial losses for sanctuary cities and states, The Daily Wire has learned. The Florida senator introduced the bill — dubbed the Unifying American Security Interests Act — to explicitly tie eligibility for federal grants to cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In order to secure the federal funds, cities would need to honor ICE detainers, conduct joint training with immigration officers, and commit to openly sharing information with federal authorities. Along with the aforementioned bill, Scott introduced the Sanctuary Jurisdiction Event Security Enhancement Act, which bars sanctuary cities and states from receiving federal funding for event security through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Special Event Assessment Rating. “Democrat politicians are putting illegal aliens first and the American people last, harboring criminals in sanctuary cities where they refuse to enforce our laws,” Scott said in a statement shared with The Daily Wire. “President Trump is doing his part by securing the border, now Congress must pass my bills to hold sanctuary cities and states accountable by withholding federal tax dollars until they cooperate with federal law enforcement,” Scott said. President Donald Trump has previously threatened to cut federal funding to sanctuary jurisdictions amid his mass deportation crackdown. Trump accused sanctuary cities and states of doing “everything possible to protect criminals at the expense of American citizens,” adding that “it breeds fraud and crime and all of the other problems that come,” according to NBC News. The state of Virginia and its new Democratic Governor Abigail Spanberger have drawn the ire of the Trump administration over recent crimes carried out by illegal immigrant offenders. In the latest example, the Department of Homeland Security is begging local authorities in Fairfax County not to release an illegal immigrant accused of groping at least a dozen female students while he attended a local high school with them as an adult. “This 19-year-old criminal illegal alien should NOT have been attending a Virginia high school and allowed to prey on innocent teenage girls. He now faces nine counts of assault and battery. This is yet another example of the Biden Administration’s failed open border policies,” Homeland Security Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement Monday regarding the case. “We are calling on Fairfax County sanctuary politicians to NOT release this predator from jail back into our communities to assault more teenage women. Unfortunately, Governor Abigail Spanberger ended cooperation with ICE and is siding with criminal illegal aliens over American citizens.” The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office told The Daily Wire that they don’t “obstruct or prevent ICE from acting on their civil detainers,” but didn’t say whether they’d notify federal immigration officers ahead of the suspect’s eventual release. “While it is still too early in the process to know the outcome of his case, ICE has been notified of Ortiz’s location at the ADC [Adult Detention Center], and they are able to execute their detainer by responding to the ADC and taking Ortiz into custody if and when he is ordered released,” the sheriff’s office said.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday signaled a potential seismic shift in American foreign policy, questioning why the United States continues to shoulder the burden of policing the Strait of Hormuz for nations that refuse to support its strategic objectives. “I wonder what would happen if we ‘finished off’ what’s left of the Iranian Terror State, and let the Countries that use it, we don’t, be responsible for the so called ‘Strait?’” Trump wrote. “That would get some of our non-responsive ‘Allies’ in gear, and fast!!!” The president’s comments highlight a glaring disparity: while the U.S. Navy has historically secured the waterway, the primary beneficiaries are Asian and European powers. China leads the pack, importing 38% of the oil transiting the strait, followed by India (15%), Japan (90% of its total crude), and South Korea. Meanwhile, Middle Eastern exporters like Kuwait and Qatar remain entirely or heavily dependent on the passage. Despite this reliance, several European allies have refused to assist the United States in the current regional conflict. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated definitively, “We will not do so,” while Spain has gone as far as blocking American forces from using its bases for operations against Tehran. Italy and Greece have similarly declined military participation. French President Emmanuel Macron has been particularly defiant. After the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iranian targets in late February, Macron labeled the actions “outside the framework of international law.” On Tuesday, he doubled down, declaring France is “not a party to the conflict… will never take part in operations to open or liberate the Strait of Hormuz in the  current context.” While Macron deployed the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to the region, he insists it is for a “European-led” mission independent of Washington’s command. Even the United Kingdom has hesitated, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer stating the UK will not be drawn into “the wider war.” Only Poland and the Baltic states have offered firm political backing, citing Iran’s military ties to Russia. This lack of cooperation has forced regional exporters to scramble for alternatives. Saudi Arabia has boosted its East-West Pipeline capacity to 7 million barrels per day (bpd), though effective export capacity at the Red Sea port of Yanbu remains capped at 3–4 million bpd. The UAE’s ADCOP pipeline to Fujairah is running at a maximum of 1.8 million bpd but has faced drone threats. Iraq, which recently signed a deal to resume exports through Turkey at a modest 250,000 bpd, remains largely paralyzed. With 20 million barrels per day typically transiting the strait, the current bypasses are woefully insufficient. Trump’s message is clear: if the nations most dependent on this oil — and the “allies” who benefit from U.S. protection — refuse to stand with America against the “Iranian Terror State,” they may soon find themselves responsible for their own security in the world’s most dangerous chokepoint.

If you’ve ever reached those last few weeks of pregnancy, you know that everything hurts. Your baby could come at any minute. As much as you want to look cute with your bump, you don’t always feel that way. Sometimes people around you notice and try to help. Other times, those people are savage toddlers who make you feel 100 times worse. Just ask Amy von Gillern. She didn’t understand why her toddler, Brock, was walking around the house with his belly protruding, and then she realized he was walking just like her. She captured a hilarious video of his imitation and shared it on TikTok, where it went viral. @itsamyvon The snack in hand really drives it home. #thirdtrimesterbelike #pregnantwithatoddler #expectingmom ♬ Heartwarming, everyday, funny BGM(1194980) – K’s note The Toddler’s Tiny Belly Looks So Darn Cute Amy told People it took her a second to realize why her toddler insisted on walking with his belly sticking out. “I started noticing it about two weeks ago. At first, I didn’t think much of it until he started saying, ‘No I’M pregnant!’ whenever he overheard me tell somebody I was,” she said. “He walks around like that with his stomach pushed out and says there is a baby in his tummy too, which is adorable.” Amy thought everything was going fine, but Brock humbled her really fast. “Here I was thinking I was handling my pregnancy so well, just to be humbled so dramatically by my 2-year-old! I am so much more conscious of my posture and deep sighs around him now!” she joked. Followers loved seeing the sweet toddler push out his belly and let Amy know she’s not alone with her copycat son. “Wait a minute! I’m 38.5 weeks pregnant and my son is suddenly walking very strange… do you mean to tell me he’s mocking me?” a mom said. “Mine says everything makes him “naush” (nauseous). I may have been down bad for a while,” another person shared. But this person put it all into perspective. “Imitation is the highest form of flattery…or maybe humility,” they wrote. This story’s featured image can be found here.

Will the real Meghan Markle please report to the unemployment line