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Iran Tells Trump to Shove It After Genocide Threat
Iran isn’t playing Trump’s game anymore. After the president threatened Sunday to “blow up” the whole country of 90 million people if they don’t sign a deal by Wednesday, Iranian officials say they won’t negotiate with an erratic leader. One official said Trump “lacks both a coherent plan and the capacity” to secure even a temporary deal. Trump claimed Iranian negotiators were flying to Islamabad Monday to meet with JD Vance, Jared Kushner, and Steve Witkoff. Iran’s state news agency called that “a media game.” Threatening to bomb civilians and demolish infrastructure is a genocidal threat from a U.S. president. Sixty-seven percent of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the war. When a president threatens mass murder to save face, which is a war crime, democracy itself hangs in the balance.
Is the White House About to Crash and Burn?
The panic inside Trump’s inner circle is real. Politico reports strategists close to the president are terrified rising gas prices will wipe out Republicans in November. One source warned, “If we don’t see the three dollar gallon of gas, we’re gonna get killed.” Since Trump launched his war on Iran February 28, the average gallon has jumped more than a dollar. That’s the biggest monthly spike since tracking began in 1967 under Lyndon Johnson. Gas is now $4.05 a gallon. Trump’s own energy secretary Chris Wright admitted Sunday that prices might not drop below three dollars until 2027. Iran’s partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz is choking off a fifth of the world’s oil supply. Working families are paying for Trump’s war of choice. They’re going to remember in November.
Will Vance Stab Trump in the Back to Save Himself?
JD Vance is cornered. The Guardian’s Simon Tisdall writes the vice president’s poll numbers are cratering and his 2028 hopes are crumbling. Tisdall calls Vance “a crude opportunist, a self-proclaimed hillbilly peddling political moonshine.” But Vance has one card left to play. Trump can’t fire an elected vice president. Under the 25th Amendment, Vance could help fire Trump. A group of congressional Democrats wants him to join a commission that could do exactly that if Trump is judged unfit. Tisdall says Vance will bide his time, but Trump’s Iran fiasco and unhinged behavior are eroding support, and that hurts Vance too. Vance’s lead over Marco Rubio for the 2028 nomination keeps slipping. When sycophants start plotting escape routes, the regime is rotting from the inside.
Trump Tries to Pin a Medal of Honor on Himself
Here’s one for the history books. The Wall Street Journal reports Trump privately considered awarding himself the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration this country gives. The man took five draft deferments during Vietnam. He never wore a uniform. Insiders say Trump panicked in early April after a U.S. fighter jet was shot down over Iran. He screamed at aides for hours, obsessed over the 1979 hostage crisis, and blamed the Europeans. Gas prices averaged $4.09 that day. Then he mused about pinning his own chest with the nation’s highest military honor. Officials say he sometimes loses focus, drifting off to talk about his White House ballroom while soldiers die. A draft dodger dreaming up a medal for himself while the country burns. You can’t make this stuff up.
Why Are Middle-Aged Americans Falling Apart?
A new review in Current Directions in Psychological Science uncovered something deeply wrong in America. Researchers at Arizona State, Brandeis, and two German universities tracked adults ages 50 to 65 across multiple countries. Americans in that group are lonelier, more depressed, with worse memory and weaker grip strength than earlier generations. Meanwhile, folks that age in Northern Europe are actually getting healthier and happier. What’s the difference? Europe invests in families. Cash transfers, paid parental leave, subsidized childcare. America doesn’t. Healthcare here drains bank accounts. Wages stagnate. Adult kids can’t afford to leave home. Aging parents need care. Income inequality keeps climbing. This isn’t fate. Other wealthy nations made different choices and their middle-aged citizens are thriving. We can too. The suffering isn’t inevitable.
Could Two Minutes a Day Really Save Your Life?
Here’s some good news to end on. A new study in the European Heart Journal found that just one to two minutes a day of vigorous activity, broken into short bursts, lowers your risk of chronic disease and early death. Researchers call it VILPA, vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity. Sounds fancy. It’s really just climbing stairs quickly, carrying heavy groceries, or hustling up a hill. Not a gym membership. Not a training plan. Just moving with purpose. When you push harder even briefly, your heart works, your muscles fire, and your mitochondria multiply. That builds strength and resilience. The older we get, the more we need intensity, not less. Avoiding it only speeds the decline we dread. So take the stairs. Walk faster. Your future self will thank you.
And that’s the way it is, Today Monday, April 20, 2026. I’m Thom Hartmann.
