DOD Rapid Response, an official account run by a certain group of individuals tasked with posting talking-points of the Trump Administration, claimed this morning that the “ENTIRE Pentagon” which consists of over 22,000 people, is working against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
Following this morning’s death of Pope Francis at age 88, Polymarket’s betting market is predicting who will be the next leader of the Holy See as Pope of the Catholic Church; with several religious figures in the running, including Pietro Parolin, the Cardinal Secretary of State, who currently leads polling at 37%. Followed closely behind by Luis Antonio Tagle, a Filipino Cardinal-Bishop serving as Pro-Prefect for the Section of First Evangelization.
The White House, which previously denied reports of a 90-day tariff pause, Elon Musk’s briefing on China at the Pentagon, details regarding Signalgate, and reports that Iran would be able maintain its nuclear program in a future nuclear deal, all of which were eventually confirmed; is now denying today’s article by NPR, reporting that the White House is searching for a new Secretary of Defense.
NPR reports that the White House has begun the process of searching for a new Secretary of Defense, following several weeks of controversies involving current Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his Pentagon.
The Pope's death was caused by a brain-related issue, according to the Italian newspaper *La Repubblica*.
According to the doctors who cared for him, “The Pope passed away peacefully.”
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth responds to yesterday’s article by the New York Times, revealing a second controversy in the last few weeks involving him potentially revealing classified material to individuals without a security clearance over the messaging app Signal, with him telling a reporter, “What a big surprise that a few leakers get fired and suddenly a bunch of hit pieces come out from the same media that peddled the Russia hoax, won't give back their Pulitzers, they got Pulitzers for a bunch of lies - This is what the media does. They take anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees and then they try to slash and burn people and ruin their reputations.”
https://video.nostr.build/9e1d6eaf23f65bf3f5290132475af5bbd3916296cd0e259fcf6c286cb7f28aca.mp4
“We proposed the ceasefire because we view it positively,” Putin stated.
https://video.nostr.build/0c6daae080b51377575c2e3d863ece62c54c003ff8e4069855065ffe38660dc7.mp4
Putin has signed a law ratifying the comprehensive strategic partnership agreement with Iran. Iran and Russia are now officially allies.
Also, the Taliban is no longer considered a terrorist organization in Russia.
Trump slams Powell as a “major loser,” urges immediate rate cuts, and accuses him of lowering rates before the election to help Biden and Kamala.
nostr:note1jdauf4wva9qzzwdlmchfsg7haa0tplsrgnn8k0mdn7fe5dzzlhvqvjkxem
For the first time, a Ukrainian FPV interceptor has downed a Russian medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) drone.
Seen here, a Ukrainian FPV drone from the Birds of Magyar unit slams into the tail boom of a Russian Forpost-R operating at an altitude of 4 km (13,000 feet).
https://video.nostr.build/db4be3f64a758234ac25c27b8ce9519e73614a34eb6c0abe52233ea46327b994.mp4
DHL Express has announced that it will be suspending the delivery of packages worth $800 or more to the United States, following a significant increase in “red tape” with customs and import control as a result of recent worldwide tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald J. Trump.
The Trump Administration this week is awaiting a response by Ukraine to a confidential document shared with senior Ukrainian and European officials during last Thursday’s meeting in Paris, attended by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which detailed a potential ceasefire agreement and concessions to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The documents is said to have included a number of concessions that would need to be accepted by Ukraine, including U.S. recognition of Crimea as a territory of Russia, an end to Ukraine’s membership ambitions in NATO, as well as the possible establishment of a “neutral zone” protected by U.S. troops around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Southeastern Ukraine.
The Vatican has released an official statement confirming the death of Pope Francis, with Cardinal Kevin Farrell announcing:
“Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis. At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of His Church. He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalized. With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the One and Triune God.”
John Ullyot, a former senior official at the Department of Defense and close associate of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who departed last week from his position as Acting Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs after being sidelined for the role of Chief Pentagon Spokesman by Sean Parnell, has written an op-ed released tonight in Politico, claiming a scene of dysfunction, backstabbing and continuous missteps at the Pentagon which will likely soon lead to the removal of Hegseth.
Ullyot, who describes himself a longtime backer and friend of Pete Hegseth, paints a month of “total chaos” at the Pentagon, culminating in the firing of three of Hegseth’s most loyal senior staffers last week, Dan Caldwell, Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll, with rumors of additional firings to come. “In the aftermath, Defense Department officials working for Hegseth tried to smear the aides anonymously to reporters, claiming they were fired for leaking sensitive information as part of an investigation ordered earlier this month. Yet none of this is true. While the department said that it would conduct polygraph tests as part of the probe, not one of the three has been given a lie detector test. In fact, at least one of them has told former colleagues that investigators advised him he was about to be cleared officially of any wrongdoing. Unfortunately, Hegseth’s team has developed a habit of spreading flat-out, easily debunked falsehoods anonymously about their colleagues on their way out the door,” Ullyot added.
After discussing last week’s wave of firings, Ullyot proceeds to at least partially confirm and describe several of the recent scandals at the Pentagon since March, including Signalgate, Hegseth’s confusing and continued denial of any wrongdoing afterwards, Hegseth’s decision to bring his wife Jennifer to two meetings with foreign military counterparts where sensitive information was discussed, a top-secret briefing at the Pentagon for Elon Musk detailing war plans against China which was eventually canceled by the White House, last week’s purges, and finally tonight’s story about another Signal chat created by Hegseth with his wife and brother in which additional information about the strikes against Yemen were discussed.
Ullyot then ends his op-ed by stating, “In the first three months of his second term, Trump has continued that great record on national security, in particular refocusing the Defense Department on its core mission of preparing to fight and win wars. Unfortunately, after a terrible month, the Pentagon focus is no longer on warfighting, but on endless drama. The president deserves better than the current mishegoss at the Pentagon. Given his record of holding prior Cabinet leaders accountable, many in the secretary’s own inner circle will applaud quietly if Trump chooses to do the same in short order at the top of the Defense Department.”
Air-raid sirens are currently sounding across Ukraine, including in the capital of Kyiv, as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 30-hour “Easter Ceasefire” ended at 00:01, Monday, April 21. Earlier today Ukrainian President Zelenskyy proposed a 30-day ceasefire for long-range drone and missile strikes against civilian infrastructure, but it appears that will not happen anytime soon.
According to Reuters, Israel has not ruled out a full-scale or limited-strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities in the coming months, despite U.S. President Trump telling Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu that the United States would not support or aid in such a strike during the ongoing nuclear talks with Iran.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reports that Russia has committed over two thousands ceasefire violations throughout Easter Sunday, despite yesterday’s sudden “humanitarian” 30-hour ceasefire declared along the frontline in Eastern Ukraine by Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, Zelenskyy states that there have been no air-raid alerts today in Ukraine, proposing an initial 30-day ceasefire in long-range drone and missile strikes on civilian infrastructure between Russia and Ukraine.
