Salem News Channel

Vice President J.D. Vance says there are signs Iran may be willing to reach a deal, even as deep mistrust between the two countries remains a major obstacle. Speaking during a Turning Point USA event in Georgia, Vance said progress is being made in negotiations, but cautioned that rebuilding trust between the United States and Iran will take time. He noted that Iranian negotiators have shown interest in reaching an agreement, despite recent talks in Pakistan ending without a final deal. Vance emphasized that the U.S. is looking for long-term commitments from Iran, particularly on its nuclear program, as a key condition for any agreement moving forward. The comments come as both sides signal a willingness to continue diplomacy, even amid rising tensions and uncertainty surrounding a fragile ceasefire.

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President Trump versus the Pope

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President Donald Trump's administration plans to launch next Monday the system it will use for issuing refunds to American importers for $166 billion the companies paid in tariffs that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down in February as unlawful. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a court filing on Tuesday that it has completed the development of the initial phase of the refund system, known as CAPE. The system will consolidate refunds so importers will receive one electronic payment, with interest when applicable, rather than processing refunds on an entry-by-entry basis. Agency official Brandon Lord made the declaration in the filing with the New York-based Court of International Trade. The agency disclosed the CAPE launch date in a separate announcement on Friday. The Supreme Court ruled that Trump overstepped his authority in imposing sweeping global tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a 1977 law meant for use in national emergencies. Tuesday's filing said that as of April 9 some 56,497 ?importers had completed the process to receive electronic refunds for tariffs affected by the court's ruling, an amount totaling $127 ?billion. The agency has said it plans to roll out the refund system in phases. Lord said in his declaration that the agency is considering options for processing refunds on a subset of entries that were subject to $2.9 billion in tariffs. Lord said these normally would require manual processing, which would dramatically increase the workload and divert personnel from the agency's trade operations and enforcement. After the Supreme Court's decision, importers sued for refunds in the Court of International Trade, which is monitoring the development of the refund system. More than 330,000 importers paid the tariffs at issue on 53 million shipments of imported goods, according to court documents. Customs and Border Protection has said the CAPE system will initially process refunds on recently imported goods and straightforward entries. Many ?smaller importers feared the cost of the refund process would outweigh the benefits of trying to get reimbursed, forcing some companies to explore creative financing options related to refunds. Trump denounced the Supreme Court after its ruling and imposed a new temporary global tariff under a different law, though that also has been challenged in court.

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Israel’s Long War and Suffering

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Liberals Still Don't Believe Iran is Not a Threat

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A fifth woman accused U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell of sexual misconduct on Tuesday, after the embattled Democratic congressman announced his resignation from the House of Representatives and said he was suspending his campaign for governor of California. At a press conference at her lawyer's offices in Beverly Hills, California, Lonna Drewes described a 2018 alleged encounter with Swalwell, accusing him of drugging her drink and raping her. Drewes said the lawmaker had previously invited her to two public events. The third time they met, she had a glass of wine that she believes he drugged. Drewes claimed that when they stopped at his hotel room, she was already incapacitated and he raped her. At one point, she said, he choked her and she lost consciousness. "I thought I died, " Drewes said. She said the incident had a profound effect on her mental health, and that she self-medicated, lost the will to live and cried constantly for years afterward. "My delay in taking action against Eric was driven by fear, not doubt. Fear of his political power,” Drewes said. A representative for Swalwell, who is married and has three children, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Drewes’ attorney, Lisa Bloom, said that her firm will be filing a police report with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s office. The firm will be providing evidence including text messages, journal entries and witness information. Swalwell, who had been a front-runner for the governorship of the U.S.' most populous state, ?ended his campaign shortly after The San Francisco Chronicle and CNN reported that a woman who previously worked in Swalwell's district office accused him of two nonconsensual sexual encounters. The woman told CNN that Swalwell raped her during the 2024 encounter in ?a New York City hotel. The woman, whom the Chronicle and CNN did not name, was quoted as saying she had been too ?intoxicated on both occasions to consent, according to the report. The Manhattan district attorney’s office on Saturday confirmed it is investigating the sexual assault allegations. CNN also ?reported that three other women made sexual misconduct allegations against Swalwell, who has been in the U.S. House of ?Representatives since 2013. In a statement posted on X Monday, Swalwell apologized to his family, staff and constituents for “mistakes in judgments I’ve made in my past” and vowed to fight “the serious, false allegation” against him. It was not immediately clear how soon Swalwell's resignation would take effect, but he said he would work with his staff to ensure his constituents are served in his absence. Swalwell's absence from the gubernatorial race leaves billionaire Tom Steyer and former Representative Katie Porter as the top remaining Democratic candidates to replace Gavin Newsom, who is completing the maximum of two terms. California has a primary system in which the top two candidates advance to the general election regardless of party.

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Harvey Weinstein is going on trial again on a rape charge in New York City, after years of #MeToo infamy, legal peril and prison. Jury selection is set to start as early as Tuesday in the onetime movie mogul’s latest retrial. For the third time, jurors will weigh whether he raped a woman in a Manhattan hotel in 2013. This time, jurors will weigh only one charge based on one accuser, rather than the array of allegations aired at Weinstein’s previous trials in New York and Los Angeles. The Oscar-winning producer denies all the claims.

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Talks to end the Iran war could resume in Pakistan over the next two days, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, after the collapse of weekend negotiations prompted Washington to impose a blockade on Iranian ports. Gulf, Pakistani and Iranian officials also said negotiating teams from the U.S. and Iran could return to Pakistan later this week, though one senior Iranian source said no date had been set. "You should stay there, really, because something could be happening over the next two days, and we're more inclined to go there," Trump was quoted as saying in an interview with the New York Post. While the U.S. blockade drew angry rhetoric from Tehran, signs that diplomatic engagement might continue helped calm oil markets, pushing benchmark prices below $100 on Tuesday. The highest-level talks between the two adversaries since the 1979 Islamic Revolution ended in Islamabad without a breakthrough, raising doubts over the survival of a two-week ceasefire that still has a week to run. Among the slew of issues at stake were access to the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's nuclear program and international sanctions on Tehran. Since the United States and Israel began the war on February 28, Iran effectively shut the strait to nearly all vessels except its own, saying passage would be permitted only under Iranian control and subject to a fee. Nearly a fifth of global oil and gas supplies previously flowed through the narrow waterway, making the fallout from its closure widespread. In a countermeasure, the U.S. military said it began blocking shipping traffic in and out of Iran's ports on Monday. Tehran has threatened to hit naval ships going through the strait and to retaliate against its Gulf neighbors' ports.

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Will Trump Have Success with China? 

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In this episode of the Carl Jackson Show, Carl dives into the Strait of Hormuz blockade, discussing the recent developments and its implications. He shares his thoughts on President Trump's decision to impose a naval blockade on Iran, citing the US Navy's successful passage through the strait as a key move. Carl also touches on the feud between President Trump and Pope Francis, analyzing their differing views on issues like nuclear weapons and crime. Additionally, he highlights the historic Artemis 2 mission and the astronauts' inspiring stories of faith and perseverance. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carljacksonradio X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/carljacksonshow Parler: https://parler.com/carljacksonshow Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecarljacksonshow http://www.TheCarlJacksonShow.com Visit our Store https://CarlJacksonStore.com

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Iran's Economy is Ruined

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DOJ Report: Biden's DOJ Weaponized Lawfare Against Pro-Lifers

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Vance Says 'No Deal With Iran'

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With a packed news cycle, Josh opens the show with the latest developments involving Iran, as the military blockade of the Strait of Hormuz enters its second day. Josh breaks down where things stand with the ongoing peace talks and the many moving pieces shaping the situation. Josh is then joined by Lee Smith, writer for Tablet Magazine and author of The China Matrix, to discuss Iran and what it will take to know when the job there is truly complete. Smith also offers insight into how Iran’s military is responding to the war. Later, Josh reacts to a bombshell report from the Department of Justice regarding biased enforcement of the FACE Act by the Biden administration against pro-life activists. Josh explains why the revelations matter and how conservatives should respond. Josh also dives into the latest political fallout after Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell resigned following sexual assault allegations that surfaced over the weekend—and why the sudden return of MeToo-style scrutiny in this case caught many observers by surprise.

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A Study Suggests Mental Health Worsened After Youths Had Transgender Surgery

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Police in the Bahamas have released a Michigan man who said his wife disappeared after falling overboard from a small boat in waters off the island nation, authorities said Monday. Brian Hooker, of Onsted in southern Michigan, had been in police custody since April 8 after being questioned by authorities. He told CBS News shortly after his release that he wants to believe his wife is still alive and plans to go back out to look for her as soon as possible. “I won’t be able to stop looking,” Hooker said, getting emotional. Law enforcement freed him after consulting with prosecutors who recommended against filing charges at this time, with investigations underway. Brian Hooker told police that Lynette Hooker, 55, fell overboard the night of April 4 as they were traveling in an 8-foot (2.4-meter) motorboat from Hope Town to Elbow Cay, a group of small islands on the eastern end of the Bahamas. He said Lynette had the boat's keys, causing its engine shut off and forcing him to paddle ashore. “Strong currents subsequently carried her away, and he lost sight of her,” police said in a statement. After reaching shore, Brian Hooker alerted someone about his wife's disappearance early the following day, according to authorities. Hooker has denied any wrongdoing, according to his attorney, Terrel Butler. She did not immediately respond to an email Monday from The Associated Press requesting comment on Brian Hooker's release. The U.S. Coast Guard has opened an investigation separate from the one being conducted by authorities in the Bahamas. The couple has been married for more than 20 years and chronicled their adventures sailing around the Caribbean on their “Sailing Hookers” Facebook page. They posted videos in 2023 of buying a sailboat they named Soul Mate in the coastal town of Rockport, Texas, and then embarking on a cruise through the Gulf of Mexico from the port town of Kemah, Texas. The couple’s home in Onsted is about 70 miles (120 kilometers) southwest of Detroit. Lynette Hooker’s daughter, Karli Aylesworth, told NBC News that it is unlikely her mother would “just fall” off the boat, saying she was an experienced sailor. She noted the couple had been sailing for years on their voyages. The couple has had a history of contention, with Brian and Lynette Hooker accusing each other in 2015 of assault, according to a Kentwood, Michigan, police report obtained by NBC. Brian Hooker, who was intoxicated and bleeding from the nose, told police at the time that his wife had struck him multiple times in the face, the report said. He told officers Lynette also was drunk. She was arrested and spent the night in jail. A warrant was denied because it wasn’t clear “who started the assault.”

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The Trump administration fired four Justice Department prosecutors involved in cases against anti-abortion activists, accusing the Biden administration on Tuesday of abusing a law designed to protect abortion clinics from obstruction and threats. The firings are the latest wave of terminations of employees involved in cases criticized by conservatives or because they were perceived as insufficiently loyal to President Donald Trump's agenda. The terminations came before the release of a report accusing the Biden administration of biased prosecutions under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act or “FACE Act." “This Department will not tolerate a two-tiered system of justice,” Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, said in a statement. "No Department should conduct selective prosecution based on beliefs. The weaponization that happened under the Biden Administration will not happen again, as we restore integrity to our prosecutorial system.” The report is the first released from the Justice Department's “Weaponization Working Group,” created by former Attorney General Pam Bondi to scrutinize the federal prosecutions of Trump and other cases criticized by conservatives. Biden’s attorney general, Merrick Garland, and Jack Smith, the special counsel who prosecuted Trump, have said they followed only the facts, the evidence and the law in their decisions. Critics of the Trump administration say Bondi — who was fired by Trump this month — and Blanche are the ones who politicized the agency, with the norm-breaking actions that have stirred concern that the institution is being used as a tool to advance Trump’s personal and political agenda. The Biden administration brought cases against dozens of defendants under the FACE Act, which makes it illegal to physically obstruct or use the threat of force to intimidate or interfere with a person seeking reproductive health services, and prohibits damaging property at abortion clinics and other centers. It was signed into law in 1994, when clinic protests and blockades were on the rise along with violence against abortion providers such as Dr. David Gunn, who was murdered. The Trump administration alleges in the report that prosecutors under Biden often “ignored and downplayed” attacks against pregnancy resource centers or houses of worship, which are also protected under the law. It also claims that the Biden administration pushed for harsher sentences against anti-abortion activists than it did in cases against abortion-rights defendants. Trump last year pardoned anti-abortion activists convicted of blockading abortion clinic entrances, calling them “peaceful pro-life protesters.” Kristen Clarke, who led the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division under Biden, defended the prosecutions, saying the attorneys "enforced the law even-handedly and put public safety at the center of this work.” “The Civil Rights Division brought law enforcement leaders, crisis pregnancy center representatives, faith leaders, and reproductive health care staff together to address the real violence, threats of violence, and obstruction that too many people face in our country when it comes to reproductive health care," Clarke said in an emailed statement on Tuesday. The firings are part of a broader personnel purge that has shaken career Justice Department lawyers generally insulated from changes in administrations thanks to long-recognized civil service protections. Justice Connection, a network of former department employees, said the agency leadership’s “cruelty and hypocrisy are on full display in this report.” “They insist on zealous advocacy by career staff in advancing the President’s priorities, while shaming and firing those who did just that in the prior administration,” Stacey Young, a former department lawyer who founded Justice Connection, said in a statement. "They’ve put career employees on notice: if they do their jobs, they face potential termination if future political leadership disagrees with the policy goals of prior leadership.”

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The Writing was on the Wall with Eric Swalwell

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Eric Swalwell Resigns From Congress

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The standoff between the United States and Iran deepened as the U.S. declared it had blockaded Iran’s ports. Tehran threatened to strike targets across the region, and Pakistan said it was racing to bring the sides together for more talks. Though last week’s ceasefire appeared to hold, the showdown over the Strait of Hormuz risked reigniting hostilities. Meanwhile in Washington, direct talks between Israel and Lebanon were set to begin. They would be the first such negotiations in decades. Talks aimed at permanently ending the conflict in Iran failed to produce an agreement last weekend. Pakistan has proposed hosting a second round in the coming days.

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