Good Morning, this is the CommonWealth Report. News for the public, not the powerful.
Is Trump Dragging America Into WW3 at the Strait of Hormuz?
The U.S. is enforcing a naval blockade of all Iranian ports, and China is pushing back hard. Defense Minister Admiral Dong Jun warned Monday that Chinese ships will keep moving through the Strait of Hormuz regardless of what Washington says. China has trade and energy agreements with Iran and expects others not to meddle. That’s a direct message to the U.S. Navy. China imports roughly half its oil from the Persian Gulf. A sanctioned Chinese tanker already transited the Strait in defiance of the blockade. Iran is threatening to block Gulf State ports in retaliation. The International Energy Agency warns oil demand could fall 80,000 barrels a day while prices race toward $100 a barrel. This is what two nuclear-armed superpowers colliding over oil looks like in real time.
Iran Offered a Deal. Trump Walked Away and Chose War
Before the blockade, Iran offered to suspend its nuclear program for up to five years. Trump rejected it. JD Vance pushed for a twenty-year freeze during marathon talks in Islamabad, the highest-level U.S.-Iran negotiations in 47 years. Vance spent 21 hours on the ground before walking out, saying Iran didn’t move far enough. Trump’s demands: dismantle all enrichment facilities, hand over 400 kilograms of near-bomb-grade uranium, cut off Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, and open the Strait. Iran won’t do it. The ceasefire is now in jeopardy. Britain refuses to join the blockade. France and the U.K. are organizing a multinational mission to restore shipping. When you’re that close to a deal, why does Trump choose the bomb over the bargaining table?
Did Federal Agents Just Kidnap an American Citizen from His Home?
That’s what Ramsey County, Minnesota is calling it. ICE agents broke into the St. Paul home of Chongly Thao in January. He’s a Hmong American man, a longtime U.S. citizen with no criminal record. All on video. Agents dragged him outside in his underwear in subfreezing temperatures, threw him in a car, and questioned him for over an hour. Then they realized their mistake and brought him home. County Attorney John Choi says the incident involves felonious kidnapping, illegal detainment, and false imprisonment. No probable cause. No warrant. The Department of Homeland Security insists ICE doesn’t kidnap people. The video says otherwise. Federal agents have refused to cooperate with state investigators. When the government hauls any American from their home without cause, none of us are safe.
United Airlines’ CEO Wants to Build a Monopoly in the Sky
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby has quietly pitched the Trump administration on merging United with American Airlines, creating the world’s largest carrier. Together, they already control more than a third of the U.S. domestic market. Combined, they’d crush every competitor. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the government will look at it but won’t pre-commit, adding that any merged airline might need to shed some assets. Antitrust lawyers say this deal faces enormous hurdles even under a business-friendly administration. Experts agree: fewer airlines means higher fares, more fees, and fewer options for working Americans. This is monopoly capitalism in action. A CEO walks into the White House and asks permission to corner the market on American skies. And the administration is seriously entertaining the idea.
Your Tax Bill Just Revealed Who the Government Really Works For
Happy tax day. Here’s what your money actually bought last year. The National Priorities Project found that the average American taxpayer paid $4,049 for war and weapons in 2025. Pentagon contractors, military salaries, nuclear weapons, and foreign military aid, including weapons used in attacks on Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran. Compare that to $2,492 for Medicaid, $124 for school lunches, and just $16 for home heating assistance. Those figures don’t include this year’s war on Iran, which could add another $130 per taxpayer and climbing. Trump is asking Congress for $1.5 trillion in military spending next year. More than half of Americans can’t afford basic necessities. The government shakes us down for endless war while kids go hungry and families struggle to keep the lights on.
Will Trump Wipe Away His Impeachment? He’s Getting Help from Epstein’s Lawyer
Trump is publicly praising the idea of expunging his 2019 impeachment from the record. He’s calling the man who proposed it one of the greats. That man is Alan Dershowitz, the Harvard law professor who defended Jeffrey Epstein and helped negotiate the sweetheart deal that kept a serial sex offender out of federal prison. Dershowitz says Trump could go to Chief Justice John Roberts or Congress to reverse the impeachment, arguing the key whistleblower had a potential bias, gave hearsay testimony, and made false statements. It’s never been done. Legal scholars say it can’t be done. But Trump is lavishing praise on the idea anyway. When a sitting president tries to erase his own impeachments with help from Epstein’s lawyer, authoritarianism isn’t approaching. It’s already here.
And that’s the way it is. Today is Tuesday, April 14, 2026. I’m Thom Hartmann.
