The Patriot Post® · Wednesday Executive News Summary
Oil prices plummet: Oil prices cratered overnight in the aftermath of the agreement to a ceasefire in the Iran war. The price of crude oil was sitting at $107 a barrel on Tuesday morning, down from its recent high of $117, before dropping to $91.61 following the announcement. Prices flexed overnight before seeming to settle around $94. The two-week ceasefire is pending an agreement from the Islamic regime to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has now announced that safe passage through the Strait will be possible for two weeks in coordination with the Iranian Armed Forces. Hopefully, this ceasefire will lead to a lasting peace that allows oil production and transport to resume at scale.
Clay Fuller wins MTG’s old seat in Congress: As the results of the special election runoff in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District came in Tuesday night, it quickly became clear that Republican Clay Fuller would defeat Democrat Shawn Harris to fill Marjorie Taylor Greene’s seat in the House of Representatives. The results were a far cry from the thrashing Democrats experienced in 2024, when MTG carried the district by 29 points, and leftists were quick to celebrate the 12-point loss as an indicator that their party is surging in popularity. However, the lower margin of GOP victory probably has more to do with depressed turnout in an irregular April runoff, as only about 130,000 voters showed up, less than a third of the ‘24 turnout figure. Because Greene stepped down instead of finishing her term, Fuller will have to fight for the seat again in the regularly scheduled primary in May.
Leftist wins in The Badger State: The Wisconsin Supreme Court became progressively entrenched on Tuesday following the election of left-wing Judge Chris Taylor over conservative Judge Maria Lazar. The election was held to replace the retiring conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley, and it represents the fourth consecutive Wisconsin court election in which a leftist judge has won. The state’s highest court will now have a left-wing majority until at least 2030. Taylor made abortion rights a central focus of her campaign, attacking Lazar for her support of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision in 2022, which overturned Roe v. Wade.
Kidnapped journalist released: A week ago, American journalist Shelly Kittleson was abducted by Iranian-backed Kata'ib Hezbollah militants in Baghdad, Iraq. On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that Kittleson had been freed, stating, “We are relieved that this American is now free and are working to support her safe departure from Iraq.” According to a jihadi spokesman, Kittleson was released on the condition that she immediately leave Iraq. Iraqi officials explained that Kittleson’s release was secured as part of a prisoner exchange in which Iraq freed a number of Kata'ib Hezbollah militants. Rubio thanked the FBI, DOW, and members of several other U.S. agencies, as well as “the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council and our Iraqi partners, for their assistance in securing her release.”
Memo on Iran’s “leader”: Maybe he’s been in a coma since the February 28 strike that killed his father. Maybe he’s dead. Whatever the case, it is clear that Mojtaba Khamenei, the new “supreme leader of Iran” who hasn’t been seen since before his father was killed, is not in charge of Iran. The newest intelligence report suggests that he is alive but unconscious and “unable to be involved in any decision making.” The closest the Iranian regime has come to proving Mojtaba is alive was via statements others claim were written by him. One assessment suggests he is undergoing medical treatment for his “severe” condition in the city of Qom, nearly 90 miles south of Tehran.
Maine Supreme Court rules against expanding ranked-choice voting: Maine Democrat proponents of the inherently unfair ranked-choice voting system were dealt a significant blow in their efforts to expand the scheme when Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the state constitution explicitly forbids the expansion of ranked-choice voting to state elections. The RNC, along with Maine’s GOP, filed a lawsuit after Maine’s Democrat-led legislature sought to change the state’s election laws to adopt ranked-choice voting statewide. RNC Chairman Joe Gruters vowed, “The RNC will continue to fight against last-minute, unlawful attempts by Democrats to change election rules. That’s why the RNC fought to stop this illegal expansion of ranked-choice voting.” Back in 2017, Maine’s highest court ruled that ranked-choice voting for general state elections violated the state constitution. Ironically, it was Democrat Governor Janet Mills, then Maine’s attorney general, who argued against ranked-choice voting, calling it unconstitutional.
DOE rescinds pro-trans settlements: The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Education has rescinded six settlements the department made under the Biden administration with school districts in Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Washington State, as well as two districts in California. As Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey explained, “Today, the Trump Administration is removing the unnecessary and unlawful burdens that prior Administrations imposed on schools in its relentless pursuit of a radical transgender agenda.” Richey noted that under the Trump administration, the DOE is pursuing allegations of boys being allowed to play in girls’ sports or enter girls’ spaces. “Today is yet another demonstration of the Trump Administration’s commitment to uphold the law, protect our students, and restore common sense. No longer will the federal government force educational institutions to violate the law or punish them for upholding it.”
Nuns fight New York’s trans pronoun mandate: Requiring Catholic nuns who provide end-of-life care to terminal cancer patients to speak falsehoods, facilitate immodesty, and take mandatory reeducation lessons sounds like something out of a dystopian novel, but it’s reality in the state of New York. The Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne are a 125-year-old nonprofit that is now being forced to sue the state to secure religious liberty. A 2024 state law requires nursing homes to house patients according to their proclaimed “gender identity” and allow bathroom access even over objections of their roommates. Staff are required by law to refer to gender-confused patients by their preferred pronouns, whether or not they are present. Failure to comply with this demented law results in fines and up to a year in jail.
Canada hates the Bible: A Canadian bill, the Combating Hate Act (Bill C-9), has passed the House of Commons and now heads to the Senate. Fox News reports, “The measure would expand Canada’s hate speech laws, create a new hate-crime offense and add penalties for intimidating or blocking people from accessing houses of worship, cultural spaces, schools, senior residences and cemeteries.” It would also repeal a long-standing defense for religious speech in some criminal hate-speech cases. Canadian Christians and conservatives warn that the bill will “makes it easier for people of faith and others to be criminally charged because of views that other people take offense to.” There are some “safeguards” written into the bill, but the problem is that “combating hate” will come down to a malleable definition of it.
Headlines
Eric Swalwell will “soon” face sexual harassment allegations from former staffers (Washington Free Beacon)
Trump endorses Steve Hilton in California governor’s race (Just the News)
Children’s Minnesota resumes transing the kids in defiance of U.S. government (Not the Bee)
Planned Parenthood’s annual report: More abortions, more tax dollars, fewer health services (National Review)
Earthset, moon, eclipse captured in stunning images taken by Artemis II (CBS News)
The Executive News Summary is compiled daily by Jordan Candler, Thomas Gallatin, Sterling Henry, and Sophie Starkova. For the archive, click here.