Ten days ago, Congressmember Eric Swalwell was getting very close to becoming the Democratic candidate for governor of California. But then he imploded amidst sensational accusations of sexual harassment and assault.

Within hours of the revelations, Swalwell abandoned his campaign and then resigned from Congress and is now under criminal investigation.

Why Swalwell was leading the field of Democratic hopefuls was never clear. His only claim to political fame was being one of President Donald Trump’s most persistent critics — which, of course, has little to do with governing the nation’s most populous state.

It seemed he was seen as an alternative to billionaire Tom Steyer, who had been spending lavishly on TV and internet ads while positioning himself as a Bernie Sanders-style progressive.

Those turned off by Steyer’s ideology or his wealth were seemingly drifting to Swalwell, who hewed to a more or less moderate line.

Swalwell’s sudden departure left a vacuum that Steyer and the third Democrat in the top tier, former Congressmember Katie Porter, hoped to fill. However, when Swalwell’s disappointed supporters looked at their options, many apparently settled on Xavier Becerra, the mild-mannered former congressmember, state attorney general and Biden administration official.

The Democratic Party released its latest tracking poll on Monday, revealing that the two Republicans, — former TV commentator Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco —are still leading the pack at 16% and 14%.

However the big news was that Becerra had shot up from 4% on April 5 to 13%, topping all Democrats. Both Steyer and Porter gained slightly in the post-Swalwell shakeout but Becerra’s rise is nothing less than phenomenal.

Why?

Perhaps Swalwell’s disillusioned supporters, who obviously had not felt comfortable with Steyer or Porter, were looking for someone dependable and trustworthy — even a little dull — after seven years of Gavin Newsom’s flashy sideshow.

It could be 1982 all over again.

That was the year that a stolid public servant, Republican Attorney General George Deukmejian, succeded wunderkind Gov. Jerry Brown.

Brown, like Newsom, had devoted much of his governorship to seeking national political attention, running for president twice, and the same voters who elected Deukmejian on a law-and-order platform soundly rejected Brown’s bid for a U.S. Senate seat.

Brown publicly acknowledged that he had worn out his welcome — although 28 years later, much older and wiser, he returned to the governorship.

This year’s campaign for governor has been the weirdest of any in at least 80 years, including actor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s improbable victory in 2003. For months, potential candidates dropped in and opted out, two Republicans led the polls in one of the nation’s bluest states, Democratic leaders were openly worried that the GOP could win the governorship by default with a 1-2 finish in the primary and, finally, scandal forced Swalwell out.

The next phase will continue the post-Swalwell reshuffle, with Becerra either continuing his meteoric rise or reaching a plateau and with Democrats still mired in low single digits, deciding whether to continue their campaigns.

“I continue to believe there are too many Democrats in the field,” said Rusty Hicks, Democratic state chair.

An hour before the new poll was released, one of the also-rans, former Controller Betty Yee, tearfully suspended her campaign — understandable, given her 1% standing. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (2%) and state schools Superintendent Tony Thurmond (2%) are on the bubble. San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan gained a bit to 5% and his Silicon Valley backers are now staging a multimillion-dollar ad campaign in hopes of putting him in contention, with mail voting beginning in just two weeks.

Meanwhile it’s still theoretically possible, although not likely, that the two Republicans could finish 1-2, thus guaranteeing election of a GOP governor in November.

In a year as wacky as this one, nothing seemingly impossible should be discounted.

The Chief Justice and His Wife Took $20 Million From Firms He Rules On. I’m Filing for His Disbarment Today. And you can too. Christopher Armitage Apr 22, 2026

Over sixteen years of federal financial disclosure forms, Chief Justice John Roberts mischaracterized more than twenty million dollars in household income from law firms appearing before the Supreme Court. He concealed his wife’s equity stake in her employer for three consecutive years. He failed to recuse from more than five hundred cases argued at the Supreme Court by law firms that had paid his household millions in commissions. He architected the Court’s first ethics code and designed it to be unenforceable. This is a course of conduct stretching across two decades, connected by a single through-line: the belief that the rules that apply to every other federal judge do not apply to him.

The Brennan Center for Justice called the code designed to fail. Kathleen Clark, a legal ethics scholar at Washington University, said nothing in the statement suggested the Court even understood what the problem was.

The Dobbs investigation followed the same pattern. After the draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization leaked in May 2022, the Court’s marshal interviewed ninety-seven employees. Every employee signed an affidavit under penalty of perjury. The justices did not. The marshal’s January 2023 report said she had spoken with each justice, several on multiple occasions, but under a different standard than the one that applied to the staff. The report concluded that she could not identify the source by a preponderance of the evidence, and the investigation closed.

Roberts is a primary architect of the ethics crisis that has broken the Court. He is a willing participant in the destruction of one of the three pillars of American checks and balances.

John Roberts is not a Trump lackey or a spineless rube. He is a builder of the world we are now living in. He is selling our future. He was appointed to the Supreme Court because of his belief that Republicans should be above the law and that the Presidency should be all-powerful so long as it’s run by a Republican. He might be an ideologue and a true believer, but not in regards to Christianity or Originalism. He is a true believer in the almighty dollar, and he sold his judicial soul to the highest bidder. May consequences someday visit him.

Five mechanisms exist to hold a federal judge accountable for the conduct documented here. Each of them is available. Each of them is being refused.

The law exists. 5 U.S.C. § 13106 makes willful false disclosure a civil violation with penalties up to $50,000. 18 U.S.C. § 1001 makes knowing false statements to the federal government a felony punishable by five years. 28 U.S.C. § 455 mandates recusal. These are laws Congress wrote. They apply to the Chief Justice.

Impeachment exists. Article II, Section 4 provides for removal of judges for high crimes and misdemeanors. Porteous in 2010. Claiborne in 1986. Hastings in 1989. Congress has the power and has used it on federal judges.

The Judicial Conference has a statutory referral obligation under § 13106. It exists. It just hasn’t been used against a justice.

The DC Bar has disciplinary jurisdiction over its members. It exists. It just carves out judicial capacity by policy.

The Supreme Court Bar has a complaint mechanism. It exists. It just answers to the Court.

The mechanisms exist. The political will of the people who control them does not. The Judicial Conference won’t refer. The DC Bar declines on intake. The Senate won’t impeach. DOJ won’t prosecute. Each institution points at another institution and says not my jurisdiction, not my moment, not my responsibility.

In the United Kingdom, a party who believes a judge should step aside can file a challenge, and a different judge decides. In Canada, the Judicial Council accepts complaints from any member of the public and can recommend a judge’s removal. In Germany, the other members of a Federal Constitutional Court panel vote on whether a colleague must recuse, and the judge in question does not vote on their own case. In Australia, a statutory code requires federal judges to disclose spousal income in full rather than by category label. At the European Court of Human Rights, the plenary court has authority to remove a judge who fails to recuse where the law requires it.

What every one of these systems shares, and what the American system lacks, is an external body with the authority to receive a complaint, investigate it, and impose consequences. The self-policing rule is the American anomaly.

This is not recent drift. In December 2000, Roberts flew to Tallahassee at his own expense and met privately with Governor Jeb Bush to advise on the governor’s role in assigning Florida’s electors to George W. Bush. Nobody disclosed the meeting during his 2005 confirmation hearings. A December 2000 email from Bush to Roberts, which surfaced a decade later through the governor’s gubernatorial correspondence, thanked him for his input in this unique and historic situation. The advice concerned scenarios in which the Republican-controlled legislature could assign electors directly, bypassing the popular vote and the ongoing recount.

The Reagan-era paper trail at the National Archives contains memos in which Roberts argued against heightened constitutional scrutiny for sex discrimination, recommended that Reagan distance himself from the Centers for Disease Control’s conclusion that AIDS could not be transmitted by casual contact, described comparable-worth pay equity as staggeringly pernicious, and wrote that an effects test in the Voting Rights Act would amount to a quota system for electoral politics. Twenty-seven years later he wrote the majority opinion in Shelby County v. Holder gutting the same statute.

For twenty years the ethics conversation around the Supreme Court has run on a curve composed entirely of Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. Roberts has played the institutional grown-up, the last one who cared about the Court as an institution, the one trying to hold the line. The line he held was the one that protected his own household. Thomas took gifts from Harlan Crow. Alito took flights from Paul Singer. Roberts took law firm money through his wife’s commission checks and mislabeled it on a federal form.

The DC Bar accepts disciplinary complaints from any member of the public against any of its admitted attorneys. John G. Roberts Jr. is admitted to the DC Bar, and I am filing a complaint against him today, after this article goes live. The complaint alleges that Roberts violated DC Rule of Professional Conduct 8.4(c) across sixteen annual federal financial disclosure filings from 2007 through 2022, by mischaracterizing at least $10,323,842.70 in documented commission income from law firms appearing before the Court as salary, with unreported commission income across an additional eight annual filings from 2015 through 2022 estimated at a floor of $11.8 million based on the documented seven-year mean, and with the actual figure likely substantially higher given Macrae’s reported revenue growth during that period. The complaint further alleges that Roberts omitted a material equity interest in his wife’s employer from three consecutive annual filings between 2019 and 2021. The complaint cites 5 U.S.C. § 13106 and 18 U.S.C. § 1001 as the underlying statutory predicates.

The men and women running this system built their careers on the assumption that nobody was paying attention. That the forms would go unread. That the recusals would go uncounted. That the statutes would sit on the shelf. That the institutions would cover for each other and no one outside would notice the arrangement.

We noticed.

We see the ten million dollars documented and the eleven million more estimated. The millions more likely unseen. We see the sixteen years of false characterizations. We see the hidden equity stake. We see the stock trades and the missed recusals and the Code of Conduct written to fail and the justices who signed affidavits for no one. We see the Judicial Conference that won’t refer and the Senate that won’t impeach and the Attorney General who won’t prosecute. We see every institution pointing at every other institution and shrugging.

Here is what you can do.

One. Share this article. Every person who reads it is one more person who knows, and the thing they built their careers on is the assumption that nobody knows. Post it. Send it. Forward it. Break the quiet.

Two. Send a letter to the DC Bar Office of Disciplinary Counsel at 515 Fifth Street NW, Building A, Room 117, Washington DC 20001. Write it in your own words. The facts to include are that Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. mischaracterized his wife’s commission income as salary on sixteen years of federal financial disclosure forms, omitted a material equity interest for three consecutive years, and did not recuse from more than five hundred cases argued by law firms paying his household in commissions. The relevant statutes are 28 U.S.C. § 455, 5 U.S.C. § 13106, and 18 U.S.C. § 1001, and the rule to cite is DC Rule of Professional Conduct 8.4(c). It takes about ten minutes.

All of this movement creates pressure. Pressure creates heat. Enough heat and things will change. Be the heat, be the pressure, and the system will bend. That’s how we take our damn country back.

Christopher Armitatge

In the last few years, there has been a trend by recruiters and companies to ‘ghost’ candidates. Ghosting is the act of ceasing ALL communication with a candidate in the hiring process. It can happen at the initial contact, all the way to final interviews. I’ve even heard of ghosting happening after an acceptance letter was sent!

I feel this is utterly unacceptable. I feel it is important for us all to reprimand recruiters (and companies, for that matter) and chide them when they ghost. I know, I know, they may not g.a.s., but still, I feel it is crucial for us to refuse that treatment.

To that end, I have created a template that I will begin sending to any recruiter or company that ghosts me. It follows:

———————————————–

Hi _______,

I’m going to say this as respectfully as I can.

I am avoiding working with people or companies who have the approach of ‘ghosting’ a candidate.

I’m fortunate: I’m employed well, I am flourishing and growing in my current position. Ergo, ‘ghosting’ does not really hurt me.

I do understand your dilemma: The flood of candidates you get may make returning emails (etcetera) difficult. However, in today’s A.I.-powered environment, I’m thinking it would be possible to at least automatically fire off rejection emails. ‘Ghosting’ is unacceptable in the professional ecosystem in which we live.

I’m not trying to create conflict with this email; I only hope to advise from the perspective of a candidate. Please try to take my comments in the correct light.

Thanks for reading!

---

While science is advancing, the roadmap may still lie in ancient texts.

McKinny highlights three enduring traditions, each offering a different possible fate for the Ark.

The first, often called the Mount Legend, suggests it was hidden beneath the Temple Mount itself–concealed in tunnels by priests before the Babylonian invasion.

The second, tied to the prophet Jeremiah, describes the Ark being hidden in a remote rocky location between mountains–a theory sometimes linked to wilderness regions near Jerusalem.

The third, claims that the Prophet Jeremiah transported the Ark to a cave on Mount Nebo–the very mountain associated with Moses’ death.

Different paths. Different locations.

But one striking consistency.

All three traditions insist the Ark was not destroyed.

It was hidden–intentionally, carefully, and with purpose.

Why This Moment Matters

It would be easy to dismiss all of this as speculation. After all, countless expeditions have chased the Ark before.

But something is different now.

The same technological advancements helping researchers identify possible remains of Noah’s Ark are now being applied to Jerusalem–arguably the most archaeologically complex and restricted site on earth.

And beyond McKinny’s work, other researchers are echoing similar optimism. Studies using remote sensing in Israel have already uncovered hidden tunnels and chambers dating back thousands of years. Meanwhile, independent teams continue to explore Ethiopian traditions claiming the Ark resides in Aksum–guarded and hidden in plain sight.

No single theory has won the day.

But the convergence of ancient testimony, modern technology, and renewed global interest is creating something we haven’t seen before:

Momentum.

More Than a Discovery

If the Ark of the Covenant were found, it wouldn’t just be an archaeological breakthrough.

It would be a spiritual earthquake.

This is not merely a relic. It is a symbol of divine law, covenant, and presence. It represents a moment when heaven and earth intersected in a tangible way.

And perhaps that’s why its story has endured.

Because deep down, the search for the Ark isn’t just about finding gold beneath the ground.

It points to something far deeper than history alone.

It confronts a truth that refuses to stay buried:

Join over 350,000 PNW subscribers.

ARTICLE Not Just Noah’s Ark – New Advances To Find The The Ark of The Covenant

News ImageBY PNW STAFF APRIL 24, 2206 Share this article: facebook sharing button twitter sharing button email sharing button sms sharing button print sharing button The ancient world is stirring again.

From the rugged slopes near Mount Ararat to the buried secrets beneath Jerusalem, a renewed wave of archaeological curiosity is sweeping across biblical history. Recent reports surrounding possible structural anomalies linked to Noah’s Ark have reignited global fascination–not just with one ancient relic, but with the broader question: What else might still be hidden?

Now, attention is shifting to something even more sacred, more mysterious, and arguably more significant–the long-lost Ark of the Covenant.

And for the first time in generations, serious researchers believe we may be closer than ever to finding it.

A Mystery Buried Beneath Time–and Stone

According to the Bible, the Ark of the Covenant was constructed under the direction of Moses around the 13th century BC. Overlaid with gold and designed to house the Ten Commandments, it represented nothing less than the physical manifestation of God’s covenant with Israel.

For centuries, it resided in the Holy of Holies within Solomon’s Temple–until history went dark.

When Babylon destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC, the Ark vanished.

What followed has been one of history’s greatest mysteries.

Now, archaeologist Dr. Chris McKinny is proposing a compelling new direction: the Ark may still lie hidden beneath the ancient landscape of the City of David, just south of the Temple Mount.

But this isn’t a theory driven by shovels and guesswork. It’s powered by cutting-edge science.

Technology Meets Scripture

Unlike past generations of explorers, today’s researchers are turning to tools that border on science fiction.

Muon detectors–devices that track subatomic particles created by cosmic rays–are now being used to peer deep beneath the earth without disturbing it. These detectors can reveal hidden voids, chambers, and even dense materials like gold.

Early scans in Jerusalem have already uncovered previously unknown underground structures.

That matters.

Because if the Ark still exists–and if it remains gold-plated as described–it could, in theory, be detected without ever turning a single stone.

Alongside muon imaging, researchers are increasingly relying on ground-penetrating radar, seismic scanning, and electrical resistivity tomography. These tools are opening up what McKinny calls one of archaeology’s greatest blind spots: the forbidden underground world beneath the Temple Mount.

It’s a place too politically and religiously sensitive for traditional excavation.

But technology is changing the rules.

Ancient Clues, Modern Direction

While science is advancing, the roadmap may still lie in ancient texts.

McKinny highlights three enduring traditions, each offering a different possible fate for the Ark.

The first, often called the Mount Legend, suggests it was hidden beneath the Temple Mount itself–concealed in tunnels by priests before the Babylonian invasion.

The second, tied to the prophet Jeremiah, describes the Ark being hidden in a remote rocky location between mountains–a theory sometimes linked to wilderness regions near Jerusalem.

The third, claims Jeremiah transported the Ark to a cave on Mount Nebo–the very mountain associated with Moses’ death.

Different paths. Different locations.

But one striking consistency.

All three traditions insist the Ark was not destroyed.

It was hidden–intentionally, carefully, and with purpose.

Why This Moment Matters

It would be easy to dismiss all of this as speculation. After all, countless expeditions have chased the Ark before.

But something is different now.

The same technological advancements helping researchers identify possible remains of Noah’s Ark are now being applied to Jerusalem–arguably the most archaeologically complex and restricted site on earth.

And beyond McKinny’s work, other researchers are echoing similar optimism. Studies using remote sensing in Israel have already uncovered hidden tunnels and chambers dating back thousands of years. Meanwhile, independent teams continue to explore Ethiopian traditions claiming the Ark resides in Aksum–guarded and hidden in plain sight.

No single theory has won the day.

But the convergence of ancient testimony, modern technology, and renewed global interest is creating something we haven’t seen before:

Momentum.

More Than a Discovery

If the Ark of the Covenant were found, it wouldn’t just be an archaeological breakthrough.

It would be a spiritual earthquake.

This is not merely a relic. It is a symbol of divine law, covenant, and presence. It represents a moment when heaven and earth intersected in a tangible way.

And perhaps that’s why its story has endured.

Because deep down, the search for the Ark isn’t just about finding gold beneath the ground.

It points to something far deeper than history alone.

It confronts a truth that refuses to stay buried:

What if these discoveries are not just revealing the past–but calling this generation to account?

A Final Thought

From the frozen ridges tied to Noah’s Ark to the hidden chambers beneath Jerusalem, a pattern is emerging that is difficult to dismiss.

History is not fading.

It is resurfacing.

And with it comes a quiet but undeniable tension–one that suggests these ancient accounts are not merely stories, but signals.

Whether the Ark of the Covenant lies beneath the Temple Mount, rests in a sealed cave near Mount Nebo, or remains hidden beyond current understanding, one truth stands firm–

This search is no longer just about discovery.

It is about revelation.

Not only of what was.

But of what still is.

And perhaps… what is still to come.

The ancient world is stirring again.

From the rugged slopes near Mount Ararat to the buried secrets beneath Jerusalem, a renewed wave of archaeological curiosity is sweeping across biblical history. Recent reports surrounding possible structural anomalies linked to Noah’s Ark have reignited global fascination–not just with one ancient relic, but with the broader question: What else might still be hidden?

Now, attention is shifting to something even more sacred, more mysterious, and arguably more significant–the long-lost Ark of the Covenant.

And for the first time in generations, serious researchers believe we may be closer than ever to finding it.

A Mystery Buried Beneath Time–and Stone

According to the Bible, the Ark of the Covenant was constructed under the direction of Moses around the 13th century BC. Overlaid with gold and designed to house the Ten Commandments, it represented nothing less than the physical manifestation of God’s covenant with Israel.

For centuries, it resided in the Holy of Holies within Solomon’s Temple–until history went dark.

When Babylon destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC, the Ark vanished.

What followed has been one of history’s greatest mysteries.

Now, archaeologist Dr. Chris McKinny is proposing a compelling new direction: the Ark may still lie hidden beneath the ancient landscape of the City of David, just south of the Temple Mount.

But this isn’t a theory driven by shovels and guesswork. It’s powered by cutting-edge science.

Technology Meets Scripture

Unlike past generations of explorers, today’s researchers are turning to tools that border on science fiction.

Muon detectors–devices that track subatomic particles created by cosmic rays–are now being used to peer deep beneath the earth without disturbing it. These detectors can reveal hidden voids, chambers, and even dense materials like gold.

Early scans in Jerusalem have already uncovered previously unknown underground structures.

That matters.

Because if the Ark still exists–and if it remains gold-plated as described–it could, in theory, be detected without ever turning a single stone.

Alongside muon imaging, researchers are increasingly relying on ground-penetrating radar, seismic scanning, and electrical resistivity tomography. These tools are opening up what McKinny calls one of archaeology’s greatest blind spots: the forbidden underground world beneath the Temple Mount.

It’s a place too politically and religiously sensitive for traditional excavation.

But technology is changing the rules.

The ancient world is stirring again.

From the rugged slopes near Mount Ararat to the buried secrets beneath Jerusalem, a renewed wave of archaeological curiosity is sweeping across biblical history. Recent reports surrounding possible structural anomalies linked to Noah’s Ark have reignited global fascination–not just with one ancient relic, but with the broader question: What else might still be hidden?

Now, attention is shifting to something even more sacred, more mysterious, and arguably more significant–the long-lost Ark of the Covenant.

And for the first time in generations, serious researchers believe we may be closer than ever to finding it.

A Mystery Buried Beneath Time–and Stone

According to the Bible, the Ark of the Covenant was constructed under the direction of Moses around the 13th century BC. Overlaid with gold and designed to house the Ten Commandments, it represented nothing less than the physical manifestation of God’s covenant with Israel.

For centuries, it resided in the Holy of Holies within Solomon’s Temple–until history went dark.

When Babylon destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC, the Ark vanished.

What followed has been one of history’s greatest mysteries.

Now, archaeologist Dr. Chris McKinny is proposing a compelling new direction: the Ark may still lie hidden beneath the ancient landscape of the City of David, just south of the Temple Mount.

But this isn’t a theory driven by shovels and guesswork. It’s powered by cutting-edge science.

Technology Meets Scripture

Unlike past generations of explorers, today’s researchers are turning to tools that border on science fiction.

Muon detectors–devices that track subatomic particles created by cosmic rays–are now being used to peer deep beneath the earth without disturbing it. These detectors can reveal hidden voids, chambers, and even dense materials like gold.

Early scans in Jerusalem have already uncovered previously unknown underground structures.

That matters.

Because if the Ark still exists–and if it remains gold-plated as described–it could, in theory, be detected without ever turning a single stone.

Alongside muon imaging, researchers are increasingly relying on ground-penetrating radar, seismic scanning, and electrical resistivity tomography. These tools are opening up what McKinny calls one of archaeology’s greatest blind spots: the forbidden underground world beneath the Temple Mount.

It’s a place too politically and religiously sensitive for traditional excavation.

But technology is changing the rules.

The ancient world is stirring again.

From the rugged slopes near Mount Ararat to the buried secrets beneath Jerusalem, a renewed wave of archaeological curiosity is sweeping across biblical history. Recent reports surrounding possible structural anomalies linked to Noah’s Ark have reignited global fascination–not just with one ancient relic, but with the broader question: What else might still be hidden?

Now, attention is shifting to something even more sacred, more mysterious, and arguably more significant–the long-lost Ark of the Covenant.

And for the first time in generations, serious researchers believe we may be closer than ever to finding it.

A Mystery Buried Beneath Time–and Stone

According to the Bible, the Ark of the Covenant was constructed under the direction of Moses around the 13th century BC. Overlaid with gold and designed to house the Ten Commandments, it represented nothing less than the physical manifestation of God’s covenant with Israel.

For centuries, it resided in the Holy of Holies within Solomon’s Temple–until history went dark.

When Babylon destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC, the Ark vanished.

What followed has been one of history’s greatest mysteries.

Now, archaeologist Dr. Chris McKinny is proposing a compelling new direction: the Ark may still lie hidden beneath the ancient landscape of the City of David, just south of the Temple Mount.

But this isn’t a theory driven by shovels and guesswork. It’s powered by cutting-edge science.

Technology Meets Scripture

Unlike past generations of explorers, today’s researchers are turning to tools that border on science fiction.

Muon detectors–devices that track subatomic particles created by cosmic rays–are now being used to peer deep beneath the earth without disturbing it. These detectors can reveal hidden voids, chambers, and even dense materials like gold.

Early scans in Jerusalem have already uncovered previously unknown underground structures.

That matters.

Because if the Ark still exists–and if it remains gold-plated as described–it could, in theory, be detected without ever turning a single stone.

Alongside muon imaging, researchers are increasingly relying on ground-penetrating radar, seismic scanning, and electrical resistivity tomography. These tools are opening up what McKinny calls one of archaeology’s greatest blind spots: the forbidden underground world beneath the Temple Mount.

It’s a place too politically and religiously sensitive for traditional excavation.

But technology is changing the rules.

A new Fox News poll reveals President Donald Trump and Republicans are facing abysmal ratings on their handling of the economy — once one of their strongest issues.

In the survey, released on Wednesday, 52 percent of registered voters said that Democrats would do a better job on the economy, while 48 percent said the same of the GOP.

It marked the first time in 16 years that a Fox News poll showed Democrats holding a 4-point advantage on the issue, CNN’s Kaitlin Collins reported on Thursday.

At the same time, Trump’s own approval rating on the economy was far worse: 66 percent of respondents said they disapproved, while 34 percent said they approved, resulting in a net negative rating of 32 points.

“This is a siren sign for Republicans,” CNN’s data analyst Harry Enten said.

“These numbers are just downright atrocious; they’re the worst ever.”

He noted that no president in modern history has recorded a net negative 32 point approval rating on the economy. The previous lows were set by former President Joe Biden at negative 25 points in 2022 and former President George W. Bush at the same level in 2006.

Trump’s plummeting numbers are largely due to independents, Enten said, who gave Trump a net negative 55 point approval rating in the latest Fox News poll. By comparison, in January 2025, they gave the Republican president a net positive one point rating.

“If these numbers hold in the midterm elections, wave adios amigos, kiss it goodbye, to that Republican majority in the House, and maybe the Senate as well,” Enten said.

Those unenviable figures come as the war in Iran — and the resulting blockades in the Strait of Hormuz — have sent fuel prices soaring. On Thursday, the national average price for a gallon of gasoline stood at $4.03, up from $2.98 two days before the conflict began, according to AAA.

A Quinnipiac poll released earlier this month showed that over half of registered voters blame Trump “a lot” for the recent spike in gas prices.

Trump campaigned on lowering gas prices for voters by “unleashing American energy.”

On Thursday, the president said Americans should prepare to pay higher gas prices “for a little while” as a result of the war, though he didn’t specify a timeline. The White House previously said that higher costs would only be a short-term problem.

Seattle could lose hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue as Starbucks expands operations in Tennessee, a local outlet estimates.

Fox 13 Seattle reported Tuesday that the Emerald City “could lose up to $750 million in tax revenue in the coming years as Starbucks expands in Tennessee instead of Washington.”

In a press release Tuesday, Starbucks announced it will invest $100 million and bring 2,000 new jobs to Nashville.

“Starbucks has major plans for its newest business location, where it will employ up to 2,000 people over the next several years to serve in a variety of corporate-related operations,” the announcement said.

“The Nashville office will directly support continued coffeehouse expansion and rising customer demand, particularly in the southeastern U.S., while working closely with the company’s global headquarters in Seattle.”

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee welcomed the announcement Tuesday, writing in a post on X, “​​Great to welcome @Starbucks’ continued investment in TN as it establishes its new Southeastern hub in Music City.

“This iconic global company’s $100 million investment — a testament to our strong economy & unmatched workforce — will create 2,000 new jobs for Tennesseans.”

Fox 13 Seattle called Lee’s attitude “sharply different from Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson when she encouraged a crowd to boycott the company shortly after she was elected mayor,” noting that Wilson’s remarks were given to a crowd during a Starbucks union workers rally in November.

“I am not buying Starbucks, and you should not too,” Wilson said.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) is attributing her alleged inflated net worth to an accounting mistake. Earlier this year, reports showed that Ms. Omar had accumulated significant wealth, with a net worth in the millions, which raised questions about possible fraud. Subsequently, Nick Shirley’s investigation into a web of Somali-led scams brought new attention to her financial dealings.

If that’s a true accounting error, then I’m Somali, too. Are you kidding me, lady? There was an error that inflated your assets to $30 million? Please, also, one of the ventures that The Washington Free Beacon investigated in January, a winery, is now closed, days after she supposedly fixed her financial disclosure forms.

The backstory via the Free Beacon:

Omar reported in her latest financial disclosure that she and her husband, former political consultant Tim Mynett, accumulated a net worth at the end of 2024 ranging from at least $6 million to $30 million. Their wealth is derived almost entirely from the value of Mynett’s ownership stake in his two companies that, together, were worth no more than $51,000 at the end of 2023. The exact value of Omar’s personal fortune at the end of 2024 is unclear—lawmakers disclose the value of their holdings and debts in ranges. Still, the figures in Omar’s latest disclosures show that her and her husband’s net worth skyrocketed by at least 3,500 percent in just one year. 

Omar’s extraordinary accumulation of wealth in 2024 could raise uncomfortable questions for the Minnesota Democrat, who in February told Business Insider that she has been the subject of a “coordinated right-wing disinformation campaign” that falsely claims she’s worth millions of dollars. Omar said any insinuation that she’s worth more than a few thousand dollars was “ridiculous” and “categorically false.” She also took to X in February, challenging her followers to “maybe try checking my public financial statements and you will see I barely have thousands let alone millions.” 

Omar has her husband to thank for catapulting her to multimillionaire status in 2024. Mynett’s California-based winery eStCru LLC and venture capital firm Rose Lake Capital both achieved remarkable financial turnarounds in 2024. At the end of 2023, Mynett’s combined stake in both companies was worth no more than $51,000, the firms had less than $700 across all their bank accounts, and Mynett and his business partner, former DNC adviser Will Hailer, were saddled with lawsuits from investors claiming they defrauded them out of millions of dollars. 

But by the end of 2024, Mynett’s combined stake in the two firms ballooned to anywhere between $6 and $30 million, and he and Hailer settled the lawsuits with cash settlements, the Washington Free Beacon has learned. 

Mynett’s business activities have long been a thorn in Omar’s side ever since they married in March 2020. They were both married to other people when they met, but the pair began an affair while Mynett served as a political consultant for Omar’s campaign, which paid his firm a whopping $2.9 million during the 2020 election cycle. But that was a fleeting arrangement. The financial ties between Omar’s campaign and her new husband’s firm drew intense public scrutiny, and by the end of 2020, Mynett had exited the political consulting business and teamed up with Hailer to branch out into the winery and venture capital industries.

Germany announced a new military strategy with the goal of building “Europe’s strongest conventional army” by 2039.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius revealed the proposal speaking to the German parliament on Wednesday, and detailed a public outlining for the “future direction” of the Bundeswehr, the German Armed Forces. One of the goals of the plan, the German Defense Ministry said in a statement, is for Germany to take “more responsibility” within NATO.

“We are developing the Bundeswehr into the strongest conventional army in Europe. In the short term, we are increasing our defense and resilience, in the medium term we are aiming for a significant increase in overarching capabilities and in the long term we will establish technological superiority,” Pistorious said, per Politico.

According to Politico, the new German military plan states that while the United States is indispensable for NATO, it notes that “Washington is increasingly oriented toward the Indo-Pacific.”

The Defense Ministry said that the new German military strategy calls for a “fundamental rethink” on the “overall concept of military defense” consisting of the military strategy and capability profile of the German Armed Forces, a personnel growth plan for the Bundeswehr, and a new strategy for the nation’s military reserve in addition to a new agenda that amins to “reduce bureaucracy and modernize the system.”

“The starting point for this is a fundamentally changed international environment. The security situation has deteriorated significantly—especially since Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” The Ministry’s statement read in part.

Christian Caruso

Months after opening Rampart Twelve, the FBI and DOJ still had no evidence to indicate that Lauren Boebert and Paul Gosar were guilty of the allegations against them.

Partisan prosecutors at the Biden administration’s Department of Justice charged forward with an investigation into Republican members of Congress after privately saying the primary evidence lacked credibility, new records show.

The documents, released by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, on Tuesday, show the beginnings of “Operation Rampart 12.” The operation, which the FBI launched to investigate multiple Republican members of Congress based on claims that they assisted Jan. 6 Capitol rioters, is believed to be a predecessor case to the get-Trump lawfare operation Arctic Frost.

Biden’s FBI opened Rampart Twelve on Jan. 22, 2021. Then-Rep. Mikie Sherrill’s accusations against congressional colleagues formed the primary basis of the investigation, which was carried forward by several DOJ and FBI officials whose private communications reveal there was no legitimate basis for it. Sherrill is now the Democrat governor of New Jersey.

“The Democrats have supported these fired former Biden Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI officials. But, as the records show, these fired officials weren’t protecting our country,” Grassley wrote in an opening statement for a Senate hearing on Arctic Frost on Tuesday. “They were literally trying to destroy it.”

J.P. Cooney and Molly Gaston — both of whom later worked with Jack Smith on his anti-Trump legal campaign — were the “two partisan prosecutors” who decided to move forward with the investigations into Reps. Lauren Boebert, Paul Gosar, Andy Biggs, and Mo Brooks. The move came after Sherrill alleged on a Jan. 12, 2021, Facebook Live stream that some Republican members had led “reconnaissance” tours of the U.S. Capitol prior to Jan. 6 in order to allow them to map out the forthcoming riot.

The corporate media trumpeted Sherrill’s allegations at the time, and she led a group of more than 30 House Democrats in sending a letter to the House and Senate sergeants-at-arms demanding information about Jan. 5 visitors. The FBI obtained phone toll records for Boebert and Gosar, according to the documents, much in the same way that Arctic Frost fraudulently obtained phone records of other Republicans on Capitol Hill.

“What you’ll find in the available records is that the evidence to support the investigation didn’t exist,” Grassley wrote.

In a Jan. 13, 2021, text to Cooney, Gaston stated, “so mickie [sic] sherrill has such important groundbreaking information that she has agreed to talk to amanda … friday.”

Cooney said of Sherrill, “that is embarrassing … appalling,” to which Gaston replied, “i hate politicians.”

Cooney then said, “me too … makes her allegations completely incredible.”

On Jan. 16, Cooney texted Gaston regarding video footage of Boebert in the Capitol, noting that Boebert was “near Sherrill.” But she was “not with others,” Cooney confirmed to Gaston.

“There is a maga hat group about a minute behind her … but it’s a family — with kids,” Cooney said.

There was another person in the tourist group taking pictures, whom Cooney described as “weird” but “not … suspicious.”

Gaston wanted to focus on “figur[ing] out what time the goasar [sic] thing happened … and get that video.”

Cooney replied, “i’m telling you though — this tour/map thing has legs … this makes perfect sense to me … proving the member’s intent might be impossible … but i am fairly confident that we are going to put a map or some other information relevant to coordinated activity in the hands of an extremist group, and trace it back to a congressional office.”

In the text messages, despite admitting that the video evidence contradicted claims that Boebert led a “reconnaissance” tour through the Capitol because she was not even with the group in question, Cooney and Gaston appeared to be persistently disappointed and frustrated by the lack of evidence to justify an investigation, while persisting in the belief that “the information is out there.”

Grassley noted that within months of opening Rampart Twelve, the FBI still had no evidence linking Boebert and Gosar to the allegations against them. A document drafted by “partisan anti-Trump FBI Agent Timothy Thibault” says the FBI reviewed the representatives’ toll records and “video footage from key areas of the Capitol,” again confirming that the FBI lacked evidence on Boebert and Gosar.

Normally, preliminary investigations remain open for about six months before being closed due to lack of evidence, Grassley noted. But when FBI Public Corruption Unit agent Leanna Saler notified Thibault that Rampart Twelve “expires on July 22,” Thibault decided to “extend and cite we are awaiting HQ guidance,” while providing zero justification for the decision. “Cooney, Gaston, Saler and Thibault’s partisan, weaponized investigation would continue until it was shut down by FBI Headquarters January 27, 2022, a full year after it was opened,” Grassley wrote.

The released documents also reveal that Cooney and Gaston also schemed on how to “circumvent” Congress’s Speech or Debate Clause in Article I, Section 6 of the U.S. Constitution, and the statutory barriers put in place to protect congressional toll records.

“The conversation between these two — where they’re trying to circumvent the law — creates more questions about Jack Smith, J.P. Cooney and Molly Gaston’s secretive efforts to obtain Member toll records,” Grassley said. “All these records, taken together, show partisan prosecutors and FBI agents used dubious allegations to pursue political investigations against Republican Members of Congress.”