• Democrats are unfit: The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing yesterday to examine Joe Biden’s evident mental unfitness for office during his administration. Democrats decided not to show up for the meeting, but hiding rather than owning up to what they’ve done is a classic tactic of toddlers and cowards. Only Sen. Dick Durbin, the ranking minority member, and Sen. Peter Welch briefly attended to throw some mud at Donald Trump, pretending he is the one in mental decline, before leaving. Sen. John Cornyn, co-chair of the hearing, said the goal was to examine key moments from Biden’s tenure, like the border crisis and the surrender and retreat in Afghanistan. Sen. Eric Schmitt highlighted the difference between Biden and Trump: “Love him or hate him, we all know President Trump is in command of his presidency.”

• Trump installs new flagpoles at White House: On Wednesday, two 100-foot flagpoles were installed on the grounds of the White House. At the initial flag-raising ceremony, Donald Trump expressed his excitement, stating, “I’ve had it for a long time. In the first term I had it, but, you know, you guys were after me. I said I had to focus. I was the hunted. And now I’m the hunter. There’s a big difference.” The flag poles, which he paid for himself, are part of several construction projects Trump has initiated at the White House, including the building of a ballroom off the East Wing. Some Leftmedia outlets expressed disdain, referring to the new flagpoles as “monstrous changes” and “tacky.” What can Trump say? It’s his pride flag.

• Whoopi Goldberg circles the wagons for Iran: No one should take the women of “The View” seriously. Whoopi Goldberg provided the latest reminder. During a discussion on the current Israel-Iran war, Goldberg claimed that there was little moral difference between Iran and the U.S. Alyssa Farah Griffin pushed back, stating, “The year 2025 in the United States is nothing like if I step foot wearing this outfit in Iran right now. I can’t have my hair showing, I can’t wear a skirt, I can’t have my arms out. I think it’s very different to live in the United States in 2025 than it is to live in Iran.” Goldberg shot back, “Not if you’re black!” She ranted about how difficult blacks “feel” life is here. Maybe Goldberg should move to Iran and experience life under the dictates of the Islamic Republic. Her opinion would rapidly change.

• Security experts alarmed by threat of cyberattack from Iran: Cybersecurity experts are taking the threat of Iranian-based hacks and digital attacks seriously as the Iran-Israel war continues. Theresa Payton, former White House chief information officer under George W. Bush and CEO of cyber firm Fortalice Solutions, warns that those in the energy, finance, and transportation sectors must be particularly cautious as they’re at heightened risk of attack. One hacking group, CyberAv3ngers, is believed to be launching attacks at the behest of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Cyber-Electronic Command (IRGC-CEC). Hacking targets will likely include unpatched systems, such as remote access points used for maintenance. Americans are urged to be on the lookout for AI phishing attempts and extra wary of emails and texts from unknown sources.

• Social Security bankruptcy estimate moves one year closer: Saving Social Security may be an exercise in futility, where the best that can be hoped for is kicking the can down the road a little further. The combined Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability Insurance Trust Funds, currently valued at $2.72 trillion, are expected to run out by 2034, a year sooner than last year’s estimate of 2035. In that case, payments would be reduced to 81% of the beneficiary’s earnings. The estimates suggest that costs will exceed income in 2025 and continue in this manner through 2100, the projected period. Roughly 185 million Americans pay into Social Security yearly, while 70 million receive benefits in 2025. That’s a ratio of 2.6 workers for each beneficiary, which is expected to decline further in the coming years. When established, Social Security had a ratio of 42 workers to 1 beneficiary.

• The DNC is in money trouble: DNC Chair Ken Martin has had an inauspicious start to his tenure in the position, which he assumed on February 1. Since then, there’s been a massive blow-up around former Vice Chair David Hogg, Randi Weingarten has left her position within the party, and now the DNC appears to have empty pockets. Contributions have been slow, even from reliable donors. DNC cash reserves shrank by $4 million in the first four months of the year while RNC reserves grew by $29 million. Donors are unhappy with Martin for criticizing his rival over connections to billionaire Democrat donors during his campaign for the position. They’re also unhappy that they donated a billion dollars to help elect Kamala Harris and were rewarded with nothing but debt from her overspending.

• Trump continues to allow TikTok to operate: Donald Trump has once again extended the deadline for the congressionally mandated sale or ban of the Chinese-based social media platform TikTok. “As he has said many times, President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt explained. “This extension will last 90 days, which the Administration will spend working to ensure this deal is closed so that the American people can continue to use TikTok with the assurance that their data is safe and secure.” Trump clearly wants to keep TikTok up and running, likely because it is especially popular with younger Americans. Any sale would “probably have to get China approval, but I think we’ll get it,” he surmised. “I think President Xi will ultimately approve it.”

• OpenAI gets $200M contract from Pentagon: The Department of Defense announced that it has inked a $200 million contract with OpenAI to “develop prototype frontier AI capabilities to address critical national security challenges in both warfighting and enterprise domains.” OpenAI noted that this was the first of its “OpenAI for Government” partnership efforts, although the company has already been working with U.S. National Labs. According to the Pentagon, “an estimated completion date of July 2026” has been established for the contract. OpenAI explained that it will “help the Defense Department identify and prototype how frontier AI can transform its administrative operations, from improving how service members and their families get healthcare, to streamlining how they look at program and acquisition data, to supporting proactive cyber defense.”

Headlines

• Israel defense minister says Iran’s Khamenei “cannot continue to exist” (Times of Israel)

• NYC mayoral candidate Brad Lander detained by ICE outside immigration court (Not the Bee)

• Border Patrol agents shut down massive drug smuggling tunnel between Tijuana and San Diego (Fox News)

• Migrant influx pushing Massachusetts shelter costs past $1 billion in FY25 (Fox News)

• Federal Reserve keeps rates unchanged (Newsweek)

• England votes to decriminalize abortion for women at any stage for any reason (National Review)

• Humor: 9 creative ways to achieve peace in the Middle East (Babylon Bee)

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