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Ukraine has hailed the long awaited approval and release of a whopping a €90 billion loan by the European Union, which belatedly happened Thursday after months of negotiations.

"The European support loan for Ukraine has been unblocked - €90 billion over two years," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X.

"For us this is important, and it will strengthen, of course, our army, Ukrainian forces, and allow us to boost production of air defense systems and work more to protect our energy system for the winter. Together we will solve many issues of protecting lives. And of course, we will keep working to push Russia to real diplomacy to end this war," he said.

Hungary and Slovakia, which had blocked the package, did not object before the 3 p.m. deadline, clearing final approval. This after a major Hungarian election wherein PM Viktor Orban suffered defeat, and rapid political transition is underway.

These countries lifted their vetoes after oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline finally resumed Thursday following earlier damage from Russian strikes. The timing interestingly corresponded with Hungarian opposition leader Péter Magyar cinching victory in a historic election.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the decision while traveling to Cyprus for talks with European leaders on the Middle East-driven energy crisis.

"While Russia doubles down on its aggression, we are doubling down on our support to the brave Ukrainian nation enabling Ukraine to defend itself," von der Leyen wrote on X.

The loan is heavily weighted toward military spending, and the NY Times says that it signifies that Kiev's Western backers see peace as being very far away. And additionally, this was unleashed by Brussels: 

The latest EU sanctions against Russia – the 20th round since the invasion – blacklist Russian banks and energy companies, as well as entities in the United Arab Emirates, Thailand and China, including Hong Kong, for helping Moscow evade western restrictions.

Again, as for what changed to finally unlocked the loan, Washington Post bluntly points out the obvious big elephant in the room...

"The two-year loan is moving forward after its main opponent, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, lost his campaign for reelection this month," WaPo writes.

Submitted by Thomas Kolbe

America remains a country of high social mobility and upward opportunity—something we no longer see on today’s European continent. It may sound kitschy to many Europeans, yet its vibrant economic centers, high geographic mobility, and the flexibility of its people still create the conditions for this unique phenomenon.

Admittedly, the narrative of the “land of unlimited opportunity” may sound exaggerated today—something akin to self-promotion. Yet at its core, it still holds true. Can one still make something of oneself there? Donald Trump’s deregulation program, combined with tax cuts for businesses as well as small and medium incomes, has in any case helped to revive this promise of upward mobility.

Trump’s policies go hand in hand with the elimination of fiscal privileges and subsidies. His goal: the systematic dismantling of the fiscally secured and media-backed strongholds of power of a socialist apparatus that reflects the spirit of European regulatory policy.

Put simply, under Trump, American nationalism and a rejection of ideological engineering have returned to the political agenda. With intense competition and market-driven policies at home, alongside a trade and tariff strategy reminiscent of presidents like Alexander Hamilton and William McKinley, this forms a clear countermodel to his predecessors. They had significantly advanced the European model of climate socialism as a tool of power consolidation.

For the record: it was President Barack Obama who, in 2009, identified carbon dioxide as a lever of power, integrated European regulatory frameworks, and began systematically undermining the traditional American values of individual liberty, mobility, free markets, and minimal government.

The public outrage over Trump’s reversal in key questions of political power architecture stems largely from the fact that too many had grown comfortable in a world of subsidies, NGOs, and public sector employment. European climate socialists now pin their hopes on California Governor Gavin Newsom. In two and a half years, he is expected to enter the White House and initiate a return to the status quo ante.

In Berlin, Brussels, Paris, and London, they are likely already counting the days until a possible political shift in Washington.

Trump has fallen out of favor with Europeans because his agenda of prioritizing American national interests mercilessly exposes the ideological contradictions and intellectual weakness of European socialism. Whether in foreign policy—where the U.S. asserts itself forcefully toward countries like Venezuela or Iran—or in its confrontation with the climate lobby and the left-wing NGO complex, Trump’s policies reflect the will of many Americans to finally address the consequences of globalist policies and draw the logical conclusion: dismantling this socialist overreach.

It is telling that his migration policy meets fierce resistance in the strongholds of Democratic Party power. Where migration and poverty industries have taken root, the immigration authority ICE encounters near civil-war-like resistance.

Yet it is not Trump’s fault that the European social model lies in ruins.

Europe suffers from a lack of self-criticism and a general unwillingness to confront its own ideological failures. Meanwhile, nuclear cooling towers are demolished, coal seams flooded, and gas infrastructure dismantled. The politics of ideological immaturity collide with Washington’s hard-nosed approach and the necessary repair work on a deeply damaged social and economic body.

No matter whom the Republican Party nominates as Trump’s potential successor—be it J.D. Vance or Marco Rubio—the German press has already made its choice. It longs for America’s return to European-style climate socialism: more comfortable, more predictable, and promising continued access to public funding—even for its own future. To underline this, the German weekly WirtschaftsWoche recently published a guest article by Gavin Newsom.

Newsom seeks to persuade foreign governments to view California as an independent economic entity—the world’s fifth-largest economy, still embodying the spirit of boundless opportunity.

The implicit message is clear: California’s economic stagnation is not the result of high taxes or aggressive climate policies in the European mold—nor of its war on oil and gas—but solely the fault of Donald Trump’s tariff policy.

California is Europe in miniature—a shadow of the Old Continent cast across the United States. It now finds itself exposed by Washington’s market-driven reforms, which throw its model into stark contrast. The results are increasingly visible: one system succeeds, the other falters.

In his guest contribution, Newsom naturally avoids addressing the consequences of California’s climate policies. As in Europe, CO2 costs are placing enormous strain on industry. Companies are leaving—just as they are in Germany—and relocating to states like Texas or Florida, where industrial production is still valued.

Newsom’s socialist course, which began in 2019, is evident not only in rising public debt. More striking is the emergence of a full-fledged poverty management industry. Years of open-border policies enabled the development of a deeply corrupt system of dependency management. California has become a magnet for illegal migrants, drug addicts, and other lost individuals; at the same time, the political framework sustains an extraction economy similar to what we observe in Germany’s migration sector. The parallels are striking.

The Sunshine State, once a place of aspiration for so many, now resembles—especially in its urban centers—the kind of social decay familiar from Europe’s migration-driven slums.

Hardly a model to be proud of—yet, for WirtschaftsWoche, seemingly the ideal form of postmodern urbanity.

Newsom frequently points to the success of Silicon Valley, the powerhouse of digital innovation. Yet this engine of growth quite literally fell into his lap; he has contributed nothing of substance to enhancing the state’s innovative capacity. Silicon Valley existed before Newsom—and it will exist after him, if necessary in a different location, in new form, after escaping the suffocating grip of bureaucratic overreach.

A final word on those Europeans who hope for Trump’s failure: with Newsom and a return of the United States to European climate socialism and mass immigration, capital flight from the EU might temporarily slow. It is entirely possible that European leadership could buy time by pointing to a faltering America. But it would change nothing about Europe’s decline—only delay the inevitable.

About the author: Thomas Kolbe, a German graduate economist, has worked as a journalist and media producer for clients from various industries and business associations. As a publicist, he focuses on economic processes and observes geopolitical events from the perspective of the capital markets. His publications follow a philosophy that focuses on the individual and their right to self-determination

Authored by Chase Smith via The Epoch Times,

Thirty-seven Senate Democrats sent a letter Monday to the U.S. Postal Service’s board of governors calling on the agency to refuse to implement a March 31 executive order that directs the USPS to use state-submitted lists to determine which voters may receive mail-in and absentee ballots.

The order specifically mentions U.S. citizenship as a key element for eligibility.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) led the effort alongside three ranking committee members: Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee; Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), ranking member of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee; and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Executive Order 14399, signed March 31 by President Donald Trump, directs the Postmaster General to initiate a rulemaking within 60 days establishing uniform standards for mail-in and absentee ballot processing. 

Under the order, USPS would be prohibited from transmitting mail-in or absentee ballots to any voter not enrolled on a state-submitted eligibility list, which the order calls a “Mail-In and Absentee Participation List.” A final rule must be issued within 120 days of signing.

The order also directs the Department of Homeland Security to compile federal citizenship records into state-by-state voter eligibility lists, drawn from Social Security Administration and immigration databases, and transmit those lists to state election officials at least 60 days before each federal election.

The senators argued that the order unconstitutionally transfers authority over federal elections to the executive branch, noting that the Constitution vests authority over the ’times, places, and manner' of federal elections with the states, subject to alteration by Congress.

“The Constitution provides no role for the President in regulating federal elections,” the Democratic senators wrote. “And no statute delegates to the President any authority to regulate elections or voter eligibility either, including via USPS. By issuing the executive order, however, the President is attempting to unconstitutionally consolidate power to personally regulate American elections.” 

The senators said the order would effectively ban mail-in voting in any state unwilling to submit its absentee voter lists to the USPS, and would give the postal agency power to determine which voters’ ballots get delivered to election officials at all.

The senators also pointed to language in a December 2025 USPS rule on postmarking procedures, in which the agency described its limited role in elections. 

“While the Proposed Rule contains information of potential relevance to election officials and to citizens who choose to vote by mail, the Postal Service does not administer elections, establish the rules or deadlines that govern elections, or determine whether or how election jurisdictions utilize the mail or incorporate our postmark into their rules,” the rule noted. “The Postal Service also does not advocate for or against any particular voting practices (including mail-in voting).”

The order has generated legal battles on two fronts.

1. On the voter data side, the federal government sued 30 states and the District of Columbia for refusing to hand over voter registration records to federal officials, and at least five federal judges have ruled against that effort. 

2. On the mail-in ballot side, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee filed a lawsuit on April 1, arguing that the order restricts Americans’ ability to vote by mail. A coalition of 12 Republican state attorneys general filed motions on April 20 in Massachusetts and Washington to defend the order against that challenge. 

The White House and USPS did not respond to a request for comment before publication.

The letter was addressed to USPS Chairwoman Amber McReynolds, Vice Chairman Derek Kan, Governors Ronald Stroman and Daniel Tangherlini, and Postmaster General David Steiner.

Play foolish socialist games, and watch New York City crumble.

That may be the lesson far-left NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani is about to learn, as Citadel's Ken Griffin appears to be losing patience with the mayor's latest political stunt.

Recall that, in a video posted last week by the NYC Mayor's Office, Mamdani unveiled the city's first-ever pied-à-terre tax: an annual fee on luxury properties whose owners do not live in NYC full-time. The video was filmed outside 220 Central Park South, the building where Griffin owns a four-floor penthouse he purchased in 2019 for $238 million.

Happy Tax Day, New York. We’re taxing the rich. pic.twitter.com/Wky2LFXC9W

— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) April 15, 2026

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday afternoon that an internal memo from Citadel's COO said its massive redevelopment of 350 Park Avenue, a $6 billion project that would produce 6,000 construction jobs and more than 15,000 permanent jobs, might be halted. 

"We are about to commence the redevelopment of 350 Park Avenue, creating 6,000 highly paid construction jobs and supporting the creation of more than 15,000 permanent jobs in mid-town New York," wrote Gerald Beeson. "The project -- if we move forward -- will entail more than $6 billion dollars of spending."

Beeson sent the letter to employees of Citadel, Citadel Securities, and Griffin's other businesses. Let's not forget that Griffin relocated his company from crime-ridden Chicago to Miami. Beeson said the mayor's video suggested that the mayor doesn't appreciate how people like Griffin contribute to the greater good.

"It is shameful that he used Ken's name as the example of those who supposedly aren't carrying their fair share of the burdens associated with New York City's often costly and wasteful spending," Beeson continued. "In doing so, the mayor has once again manifested the ignorance and disdain of the elite political class towards those who have been consistently committed to building one of the greatest cities in the world."

"We have nearly 2,500 colleagues who have chosen to build their careers here," he said. "We understand that our hard work and success will, on occasion, make us targets for political rhetoric. But it should not diminish the pride we take in building firms that will continue to help New York City thrive for decades ahead."

In all seriousness, Griffin has little reason to waste time dealing with mounting political hostility from the far-left mayor when that same redevelopment capital could be deployed in a more business-friendly state where capitalism, property rights, and law and order are still upheld. Mamdani is bad for business - part of a broader unhinged class of socialist politicians, from Baltimore to New York City, who seem more interested in abusing taxpayers than properly governing. Why take the abuse?

Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times,

The Department of Justice told the U.S. Supreme Court on April 22 that it has settled a lawsuit filed by former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page over alleged surveillance abuses.

Page had served as a foreign policy adviser to President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign.

He sued several top federal law enforcement officials, alleging his constitutional rights were violated through illegal surveillance carried out under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act as part of an investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The settlement moots, or makes legally irrelevant, Page’s lawsuit against the federal government, U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer said in a new brief filed with the nation’s highest court.

Page had filed a petition with the Supreme Court in December 2025 to appeal a U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruling that affirmed dismissal of the lawsuit by a lower court.

The appeals court ruled that he had waited too long to initiate his lawsuit.

Page is a longtime contributor to the United States’ national security efforts as an “operational contact” of the Central Intelligence Agency. Despite his years of service, he was a target in the FBI’s investigation known as Operation Crossfire Hurricane that probed suspected Russian influence on Trump’s 2016 campaign. He has denied having any improper ties to Russia and was not charged with wrongdoing, according to the petition.

“Through deliberate lies and incomplete factual assertions, the FBI convinced the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) that there was probable cause to believe that Dr. Page was an intermediary between Russia and Paul Manafort, the Trump campaign’s chair,” he said in the petition.

The FBI filed for four Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrants to surveil Page and the court granted all four. Before the final renewal application was filed, two members of the operation conspired to leak information from the secret FBI surveillance of Page to the media to damage his public image and the Trump campaign. Anonymously sourced media reports falsely insinuated that Page was an agent of Russia, according to the petition.

Because Page knew he wasn’t a Russian agent, he inferred from the media reports that he had been unlawfully surveilled and shared his belief with Congress and the public, according to his petition. However, foreign intelligence investigations are carried out in secret, so his suspicions could not be verified no matter what steps he took.

In late 2019, the Office of the Inspector General published a report spelling out “the FBI’s repeated and thorough surveillance abuses against Dr. Page,” stating that the first warrant application contained “seven significant inaccuracies and omissions.” The FBI also excluded information exonerating Page from warrant applications, including statements by Page “that were inconsistent with its theory” that “Page was an agent of Russia.” The office also “identified 10 additional significant errors in the renewal applications,” the petition said.

A Justice Department spokesperson commented on the settlement.

“No American should ever face covert and unlawful surveillance based on their political views,” the spokesperson told The Epoch Times.

“The investigation into Carter Page—a man never charged with a single crime—relied on inherently flawed and uncorroborated information, proving it was a political sham from the get-go. The targeting of American citizens for political purposes constitutes a severe violation of civil liberties,” the spokesperson continued.

“This Department of Justice is committed to dismantling the weaponization of government and today’s settlement represents one of many initiatives to provide justice to those abused by rogue actors.”

The Epoch Times reached out for comment to Page’s attorney, Gene Schaerr of Schaerr Jaffe in Washington. No reply was received by publication time.

President Trump has repeatedly said that Iran "better not" collect tolls from ships seeking to traverse the Hormuz Strait waterway, as both warring sides have initiated their own rival blockades of different sectors of the strait.

Just last week, Trump had flatly rejected the possibility of Tehran imposing fees - reportedly $2 million or perhaps even more - when a reporter asked about the prospect of restrictions or tolls managed by Iran for strait passage. "Nope. No way. No. Nope," Trump had responded. He said there can't be tolls along with restrictions, suggesting that a future system could perhaps be worked out, even of some kind of toll-sharing scheme. "No, they’re not going to be tolls."

Earlier this month the president had even stated of tolls, "We're thinking of doing it as a joint venture" - in reference to Washington and Tehran, which of course raised eyebrows. "It’s a way of securing it — also securing it from lots of other people. It’s a beautiful thing."

"We’ll be loading up with supplies of all kinds, and just ‘hangin’ around’ in order to make sure that everything goes well," Trump had later separately written on Truth Social. "I feel confident that it will."

But after all this, on Thursday Iran has publicly announced for the first time that initial toll payments have been successfully transferred to the state-operated Central Bank of Iran (CBI):

The Iranian authorities have received revenue from tolls for ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz for the first time, Parliament Deputy Speaker Hamid Reza Hajibabai said.

"The first revenue received from tolls in the Strait of Hormuz has been transferred to the Central Bank's account," the Fars news agency quoted him as saying.

A specific monetary amount was not given, but this week has seen reports that several Iranian tankers, with transponders off, have made it past the US Navy's blockade - which the Pentagon has denied. State media says:

IRAN RECEIVED HARD CURRENCY PAYMENT FOR HORMUZ TOLL: FARS

According to Drop Site News:

Iran formally codified the toll system in its “Strait of Hormuz Management Plan,” passed by parliament on March 30-31. The IRGC charges up to $2 million per vessel, with fees running approximately $1 per barrel of crude cargo — meaning a fully loaded supertanker could pay $2 million per transit.

?? Iran’s second deputy parliament speaker Hajibabaei announced Wednesday that the first revenues collected from Strait of Hormuz transit tolls have been deposited into the Central Bank of Iran, according to Mehr News Agency — marking the first public confirmation that Iran’s… pic.twitter.com/qURuWTpzbk

— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) April 23, 2026

Also, the US side has said that dozens of international vessels have been approved for safe passage and have made it out. The US is halting and intercepting any vessel connected with Iranian ports, whether they be inbound or outbound, and especially if they are under sanction.