Tables turn as Republicans face gas-price attacks they once used on Democrats

2026-04-22 10:05 AM UTC / Reuters

By Nathan Layne

April 22, 2026 10:05 AM UTC Updated 1 hour ago

节点运行失败

High prices for gasoline are shown at a gas station in downtown Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 10, 2026. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

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• Summary

• Democrats target Michigan lawmaker’s support for Iran war as fueling gas price hikes
• Republican Barrett distances himself from Trump’s Iran rhetoric but backs war for national security
• Local protests link high fuel costs to Barrett’s policies, intensifying campaign pressure

BRIGHTON, Michigan, April 22 (Reuters) – Tom Barrett tapped into voter frustration over high gas prices as part of his successful 2024 run for Congress in Michigan. Now the Republican is on the defensive on that same issue as Democrats see an opportunity to flip his seat.

“Gas in Michigan is four bucks a gallon,” Barrett said as he filmed himself filling up his tank ​at a gas station in August 2023. “When I’m elected to Congress, we’ll produce our own energy. We’ll get gas under control so that this will be a lot more affordable for families like yours and families like mine.”

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Nearly three years after he ‌posted that video to social media, average gas prices in Michigan are back near the same level, briefly topping $4 in early April before settling around $3.80 this week, up 27% since the Iran war began on February 28.

The surge has put Republicans who campaigned against high fuel costs under Democratic President Joe Biden on the defensive heading into November’s midterm elections, with control of the House at stake and the Senate potentially in play.

The vulnerability is especially acute for Barrett, who represents one of the country’s most competitive districts as a U.S. congressman and is already facing Democratic attacks on the issue.

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In an interview with Reuters, Barrett acknowledged that gasoline prices were squeezing his constituents’ finances but said the war was justified ​on national security grounds and expressed hope that prices would fall.

“Gas is an issue that affects people’s livelihoods, the affordability of things … I’m not dismissing any of that,” he said after the opening of a new campaign office in Brighton, a small city 45 miles west of ​Detroit. “But that doesn’t mean gas is going to be the same price on Election Day as it is today.”

That optimism has been undercut by both President Donald Trump and his energy secretary, Chris Wright, who have acknowledged that gasoline ⁠prices could remain high through Election Day.

FEW GOOD OPTIONS

Republicans across the country are grappling with how to campaign amid high gas prices after weaponizing the issue during the Biden years, when prices peaked above $5 a gallon in June 2022 as Russia’s war on Ukraine provoked a sharp rise in global energy prices. ​The recent rise in gas prices has exacerbated Republicans’ woes heading into the election, with Americans already disgruntled by high food and property prices as well as healthcare costs.

For many Republican candidates, the rise in gasoline prices has upended a central campaign strategy. They still plan to focus November’s elections on Trump’s sweeping 2025 ​tax bill, but the higher fuel costs have made it harder for them to sell the promised relief to Americans squeezed by everyday expenses.

One strategist working for a Republican in a competitive House race said that candidates must back Trump and the war during party primaries that attract more conservative supporters but may have to break with him in the November general election.

“When the campaign focus becomes independent voters, soft Republicans, folks like that, then Republican candidates may be forced to be critical of the president,” said the strategist, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

DEMOCRATS TURN TABLES ON REPUBLICANS

Gas was not the sole focus of Barrett’s 2024 campaign, but he repeatedly returned to the issue as part of ​a pledge to fight inflation under Biden. A 22-year U.S. Army veteran, Barrett won the district by nearly four percentage points, outperforming Trump’s one-point win in the presidential election the same year.

In late July 2024, for example, Barrett posted photos on X of gas price signs from four different stations, all ​hovering around $4 a gallon.

Now, Democrats see gas prices as a potent weapon in their effort to flip Barrett’s predominantly white district, which is centered on Lansing and stretches across farmland and small towns, and east toward the outer edge of the Detroit metro area.

On April 13, local Democrats, farmers and activists gathered at a gas station ‌outside Lansing to protest ⁠high fuel and fertilizer prices and call for an end to the war. “Tom Barrett + Iran War and We Pay,” read the sign carried by one protester. “Got Gas Pains? Vote Democrat for Relief,” read another.

Bridget Brink, the Democrat who has raised the most money so far ahead of her party’s August primary, said if she won the Democratic nomination she would hammer Barrett on his support for the war and the resulting spike in gas prices.

Brink, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine under Biden, said any relief from new tax breaks on tips, Social Security benefits, and overtime pay in Trump’s 2025 tax bill was being outweighed by rising gas prices.

“When Republicans say they’re cutting your taxes, all of that gets lost in bigger prices on gas, healthcare, groceries, and housing,” she said. “We’ll be talking about gas prices every week, because we all see it and feel it.”

BARRETT CREATES SOME DISTANCE FROM TRUMP

Earlier this month, Barrett criticized Trump’s threat to destroy Iran’s “whole ​civilization” as an affront to human dignity.

Yet Barrett voted against a congressional ​resolution to limit Trump’s war powers and says he supports efforts ⁠to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, arguing that current high gas prices stem from a justified foreign-policy choice, unlike a Biden-era spike he blames on limits on domestic oil production.

After a Reuters reporter mentioned interviewing a constituent who could afford to put only $14 of gas into her car, Barrett redirected the conversation to national security, repeatedly asking whether she had been questioned about Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

“Did you ask her if she thought Iran should develop a ​nuclear weapon?” Barrett asked.

Reuters did not ask the constituent, Danielle Lewis, about Iran’s nuclear capabilities but discussed the war’s impact on gas prices. Lewis, 39, said she liked Barrett and would likely vote for him in ​November.

The latest Reuters/Ipsos polling shows that only 36% ⁠of Americans support the war in Iran.

Beyond the war, Barrett’s campaign office opening offered a glimpse of Republicans’ midterm pitch. The congressman promoted the 2025 tax bill, stressing the benefits of an expanded child tax credit, while another House member, Lisa McLain, previewed attack lines for the crowd.

“I think we make this election a contrast election between normal and crazy, because they are crazy,” said McLain, casting Democrats’ positions on transgender rights and other cultural issues as liabilities.

Neither Barrett nor McLain mentioned gas prices in their remarks.

Democrat Christine Waugh‑Fleischmann, who spends up to $200 a week on gas for drives to see her grandchildren, said after discussions with Republican friends about inflation ⁠she believes the ​district can be flipped.

“I do see a lot of people in my conservative neighborhood here who are very upset,” said the 70-year-old art teacher, as she filled her SUV at the ​same Quality Dairy gasoline station in Charlotte, Michigan where Barrett made his 2023 social media post.

“It’s gas. It’s grocery prices, it’s healthcare costs.”

Alexander Melton, 38, an HVAC technician, said he still planned to vote for Barrett despite higher gas prices that have raised his costs, saying the Republican better aligned with his conservative values.

However, he does see a cautionary lesson from the 2024 ​election for all politicians campaigning on high gas prices.

“We don’t dictate the price of gas. We’re getting it from overseas, and at this point now we’re at the mercy of everybody else,” Melton said.

Reporting by Nathan Layne in Michigan; Additional reporting by Jason Lange in Washington, Editing by Ross Colvin and Andrea Ricci

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

House Democrats demand Kash Patel take alcohol test under penalty of perjury after Atlantic report

April 22, 2026 4:45am EDT / Fox News

House Judiciary Committee Republicans called the Democrats’ letter to the FBI director ‘unserious’

By Adam Pack, Fox News

Kash Patel to sue The Atlantic over allegedly defamatory story

FBI Director Kash Patel joins Maria Bartiromo to discuss the ongoing investigation into 11 missing or deceased scientists with U.S. national security ties, potentially linked to foreign adversaries. He details China’s persistent cyberattacks and espionage against U.S. infrastructure and institutions. Patel vehemently denies The Atlantic’s allegations of excessive drinking and announces a defamation lawsuit, highlighting the FBI’s record-breaking crime reduction and efforts over 14 months.

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House Democrats are launching an investigation into FBI Director Kash Patel following a bombshell story from The Atlantic alleging he had “alarmed colleagues” with excessive drinking and erratic behavior.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and House Judiciary Democrats are demanding that Patel complete a 10-question test identifying “hazardous drinking behaviors” under the penalty of perjury.

“These glimpses of your relationship to alcohol would be alarming to see in an FBI agent; for us to see them in the FBI Director himself is shocking and indicative of a public emergency,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Patel late Tuesday evening.

Patel has vigorously denied the allegations in The Atlantic story and said Tuesday he has “never been intoxicated on the job.”

FBI Director Kash Patel arrives to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 16, 2025.(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

LEFT-WING GROUP CHASES PROOF OF KASH PATEL’S ALLEGED ‘EXCESSIVE DRINKING’ AS DEMS EYE FBI DIRECTOR’S OUSTER

“I can say unequivocally that I never listen to the fake news mafia, and as when they get louder, it just means I’m doing my job,” he added, during a joint press conference with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.

Raskin also sent a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, demanding that he require Patel to testify under oath in person if he does not provide the requested information.

The missive is likely to fall on deaf ears, with a spokesperson for the committee Republicans slamming the letter as “unserious” in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“Crime is down to record-low levels. Criminals are behind bars, and America is safer thanks to the leadership of President Trump and Director Patel,” the spokesperson said. “This is just another unserious effort from anonymous sources and partisan actors to attack the President and his Administration.”

(Getty Images)

Democrats’ probe comes after Patel on Monday sued the outlet and Sarah Fitzpatrick, the story’s author, for $250 million in a defamation lawsuit alleging “actual malice.”

KASH PATEL CALLS ‘BULLS**T’ ON SWALWELL IN HEATED EXCHANGE OVER EPSTEIN FILES

The story, relying completely on anonymous sourcing, cited several officials detailing an alleged “emotional outburst” Patel had after being logged out of his computer. The outlet also reported officials alleging several instances of the FBI director engaging in copious drinking that led to difficulties waking him up.

“Defendants are of course free to criticize the leadership of the FBI, but they crossed the legal line by publishing an article replete with false and obviously fabricated allegations designed to destroy Director Patel’s reputation and drive him from office,” the lawsuit states.

The Atlantic released a statement defending its reporting and argued Patel’s lawsuit is “meritless.”

Trump administration officials have publicly defended Patel following the viral story.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche criticized reporters for asking questions about a viral story from The Atlantic alleging FBI Director Kash Patel has exhibited “erratic behavior” tied to frequent intoxication, during a press conference on April 21, 2026.(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

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Blanche told reporters Tuesday that he had “a lot of concerns” with the report’s anonymous sourcing, but said he had not read it.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told The Atlantic that “Director Patel remains a critical player on the administration’s law and order team.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the FBI for comment.

美伊局势依然紧张，霍尔木兹海峡的商业航运目前仍停滞。图为3月11日美伊未达成停火时，在霍尔木兹海峡邻近阿曼边境海域的货船。 （路透社档案照片）

海事安全消息人士及英国海事贸易行动中心称，一天内已有三艘集装箱船在霍尔木兹海峡遭枪击。

路透社报道，英国海事贸易行动中心星期三（4月22日）报告两起集装箱船遭袭事件。

其中一艘船悬挂利比亚国旗，在阿曼东北部海域遭枪击和火箭推进榴弹袭击，船只驾驶台受损，但船员未受伤。它在受袭前曾报告，有一艘伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队炮艇靠近。

海事安全消息人士称，这艘炮艇上共有三人，而遭袭船只最初被告知获准通过霍尔木兹海峡。

另一艘船悬挂巴拿马国旗，在伊朗以西约八海里处遭到射击，船只未受损，船员也都安全。

此外，第三艘船在驶离霍尔木兹海峡时，于伊朗以西约八海里处遭枪击。它同样悬挂利比亚国旗，没有受损，已在水面上停下，船员安全。

德黑兰表明，在美方解除对前往伊朗港口船只实施的海上封锁前，伊朗会持续控制霍尔木兹海峡。

彭博社报道称，上述枪击事件说明，当前试图穿越霍尔木兹海峡的船只，面临着更高风险。

美伊局势依然紧张，霍尔木兹海峡的商业航运目前仍停滞。图为3月11日美伊未达成停火时，在霍尔木兹海峡邻近阿曼边境海域的货船。 （路透社档案照片）

海事安全消息人士及英国海事贸易行动中心称，一天内已有三艘集装箱船在霍尔木兹海峡遭枪击。

路透社报道，英国海事贸易行动中心星期三（4月22日）报告两起集装箱船遭袭事件。

其中一艘船悬挂利比亚国旗，在阿曼东北部海域遭枪击和火箭推进榴弹袭击，船只驾驶台受损，但船员未受伤。它在受袭前曾报告，有一艘伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队炮艇靠近。

海事安全消息人士称，这艘炮艇上共有三人，而遭袭船只最初被告知获准通过霍尔木兹海峡。

另一艘船悬挂巴拿马国旗，在伊朗以西约八海里处遭到射击，船只未受损，船员也都安全。

此外，第三艘船在驶离霍尔木兹海峡时，于伊朗以西约八海里处遭枪击。它同样悬挂利比亚国旗，没有受损，已在水面上停下，船员安全。

德黑兰表明，在美方解除对前往伊朗港口船只实施的海上封锁前，伊朗会持续控制霍尔木兹海峡。

彭博社报道称，上述枪击事件说明，当前试图穿越霍尔木兹海峡的船只，面临着更高风险。

Medigap premiums leap, and consumers have few alternatives

2026-04-22 05:00:12 EDT / CBS News / KFF Health News

After decades of selling insurance, Illinois-based broker John Jaggi had never seen anything like it.

More than 80 of his customers who were enrolled in the same Medicare supplemental plan from the insurer Chubb got hit last August with a 45% increase.

“In my 49 years of doing biz as a broker, I’ve never seen a premium increase be effective immediately on everyone, instead of on their policy anniversary,” said Jaggi, whose brokerage scrambled to find more affordable options for clients. The policies pick up deductibles and other costs not covered in traditional Medicare, and without one there is no upper limit on how much a consumer might owe each year.

While 45% was an unusually big jump, Jaggi and other brokers say double-digit premium increases for Medicare supplemental, or Medigap, policies are becoming the norm.

A Chubb spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment on the increase.

More than 12 million people — about 43% of those in traditional Medicare — buy a Medigap policy. Others rely on some sort of retiree employer coverage or a different backup. About 13% of people in traditional Medicare don’t have supplemental coverage, according to KFF, meaning they could be vulnerable to large costs if they have a serious illness.

In the supplemental market, following big increases last year, rates appear to be rising again. In early 2026 filings with state insurance commissioners from Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Humana, Mutual of Omaha, and UnitedHealthcare, rate increases for Plan G policies — the most commonly purchased supplement type — ranged from just over 12% to more than 26% in the first quarter, according to Nebraska-based consulting firm Telos Actuarial.

“While this is a small dataset across a select number of states, it’s an indication that carriers are looking to correct their premium rates in light of upward pressure on their claims experience,” said Brett Mushett, a consulting actuary with Telos.

Climbing numbers

Premium rates vary based on the type of coverage chosen, where a beneficiary lives, and their age. For Plan G coverage, beneficiaries paid an average monthly premium of $164 in 2023, according to KFF. That amount has likely risen since.

“In some states, like Ohio, Medicare supplements for years would have a 3% to 5% year-over-year increase. Now it’s 10% to 15%” said Amanda Brewton, owner of Medicare Answers Now, a marketing organization whose clients are sales agents.

In Alaska, Premera Blue Cross raised the premiums on its Plan G policies by nearly 12% for this year, according to rate sheets provided to KFF Health News by insurance agent Patricia Mack, who said another insurer raised rates by nearly 13%.

For example, a 65-year-old woman who last year would have been charged $172 a month for a Plan G policy would now face a monthly rate of $192, said Mack, who owns Alaska Insurance Benefits in Wasilla.

Premera spokesperson Courtney Wallace said in an email that Medicare makes changes to deductible and copayment rates each year, which affects supplemental plans that cover those increasing amounts.

Wallace also noted that the insurer saw higher medical service use among its members, “which further drove claims costs and ultimately impacted premiums.”

Agents and policy experts blame a range of factors for rising premiums: an increase in use of medical services by beneficiaries; aging of the population; increases in labor and medical costs; rules in some states governing Medigap plans; and people’s enrolling in — or getting out of — private Medicare Advantage plans.

“Five years ago, it was exceedingly uncommon to have a carrier with a rate increase of more than 10%. Now it’s very uncommon to see a rate increase below 10%, and it’s not uncommon to see it over 20%,” said Chalen Jackson, vice president for government affairs at Integrity, a Dallas-based company that sells life and health insurance.

Jaggi, who co-owns Jaggi Petry Insurance & Investments in Forsyth, Illinois, said he eventually found other options for many of those 80-plus clients with the large increase, which came from an insurer that had previously been the lowest-cost option. But it wasn’t easy — and continuing increases are expected.

“These are unbelievable increases,” said Jaggi, who said he is seeing premium hikes exceeding 15% this year across a range of insurers.

Policy experts have outlined possible solutions, including for Congress to cap out-of-pocket costs for Medicare beneficiaries or subsidize the purchase of Medigap coverage.

“Traditional Medicare is the only federal health insurance program without an out-of-pocket cap,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) wrote in an email, adding that the program “needs to be updated and strengthened to protect the Medicare guarantee for American seniors.”

But making changes to Medicare that require congressional approval is unlikely in the current legislative environment, especially because adding an out-of-pocket cap would add costs to the federal budget.

How this plays out

People generally qualify for Medicare when they turn 65. Beneficiaries have six months after they initially enroll in the traditional fee-for-service program to purchase a Medigap plan at standard rates without having to answer health-related questions.

Strict rules then kick in around when beneficiaries can enroll in or switch Medigap coverage and options become much more limited, with each one generally involving trade-offs or tough choices.

At least 16 states have what’s known as a “birthday rule,” which requires insurers once a year to allow people enrolled in a Medigap plan to change to different supplemental coverage — usually around their birthdays — without being medically underwritten. Those rules can help consumers, including those with health conditions, to switch.

An additional four states — Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, and New York — require insurers to offer at least one Medigap policy to all applicants either year-round or during an annual enrollment period, depending on the state. Changes are allowed no matter the person’s health.

Another option for those facing high Medigap costs is to leave traditional Medicare and enroll in a private-sector Medicare Advantage plan, which have out-of-pocket caps. But joining one means beneficiaries must generally rely on a set of in-network doctors and hospitals. And if they change their mind and want to go back to traditional Medicare, they have only a 12-month window in which to purchase a Medigap plan without passing health questions. After that, it can be more difficult.

“A lot of people don’t know that if they are in Medicare Advantage for a year, they can get turned down by a Medigap plan or charged really high premiums because of a preexisting condition, which for many people effectively traps them in MA plans,” said Brian Keyser, a research associate at the liberal Center for American Progress and co-author of a recent report on the issue.

There are some exceptions. For example, if a Medicare Advantage plan withdraws from a market or leaves the Medicare program, its enrollees can qualify for a supplemental plan without being asked health questions or charged more for having preexisting conditions.

For this year alone, about 2.6 million people lost Medicare Advantage coverage when their insurer pulled out of their markets, according to KFF, and more than a million lost coverage for 2025. Many switched to other MA plans, but “somewhere around 440,000 of those people did go to a Medicare supplement policy,” sometimes because there was no other MA plan in their area, said George Dippel, president of Deft Research, a Minneapolis-based market research organization focused on insurance for older people. Deft is part of Integrity, the Dallas company.

Some Medicare experts note that anytime insurers enroll people whose health status they can’t consider — whether because of birthday rules or because their Medicare Advantage plan left the market and thus qualified them for an exemption from medical underwriting — it potentially exposes them to more health care utilization and higher costs, making them more likely to increase premiums across the board to offset the possible financial hit.

Another option mentioned by brokers for people looking to lower their costs is to consider one of the two types of Medigap plans that come with a deductible, which is currently just under $3,000 for a year. Those plans charge far lower monthly premiums than Medigap plans that pick up a much larger portion of annual amounts people must pay toward their Medicare services.

Still, “a lot of people are not comfortable with a $3,000 deductible,” Mack said.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.

The conspiracy-theory monster that Trump fed could be coming for him

2026-04-22T09:00:55.104Z / CNN

Analysis by

Aaron Blake

3 hr ago

PUBLISHED Apr 22, 2026, 5:00 AM ET

Donald Trump is rushed offstage after a gunman opened fire on a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024.

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/File

Perhaps no modern politician has done more to mainstream conspiracy theories than President Donald Trump.

After effectively launching his career in Republican politics with false “birther” claims about then-President Barack Obama, Trump has spent a decade lobbing all manner of wild theories about the “stolen” 2020 election, Haitian migrants eating people’s pets and the like. He’s also cultivated allies who helped him push those theories, often convincing many of his supporters.

But the monster Trump helped create could now be coming for him.

While relatively few high-profile Trump allies have turned on him over the Iran war and other issues, those who have flipped tend to disproportionately come from the more conspiratorial ranks of Trump’s following. We’re talking about people like Marjorie Taylor Greene, Tucker Carlson and various other influencers.

Recently, they’ve been increasingly feeding anti-Trump conspiracy theories to their audiences.

One that’s recently gained steam is that there is something suspicious about the 2024 assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania — implying it could have been staged. Other theories posit the president is beholden to Israel or even “compromised” in some other way; that Trump’s and his administration’s loyalties to Republicans are suspect; and even that he could be the antichrist.

There’s no real evidence of any actual foul play, of course. But troublingly for Trump, some of these theories appear to be gaining at least some traction on social media.

The Butler theories are far and away the most prevalent right now – though they’re often lodged in a just-asking-questions framing (a tactic Trump has personally used before).

Joe Kent, who recently resigned as a top Trump administration counterterrorism official while citing the Iran war, claimed to Carlson that investigations of Butler have suspiciously been stifled.

Greene, the former GOP congresswoman from Georgia, said in a social media post on Sunday that she wasn’t calling Butler a “hoax,” before adding: “But there are a lot of questions that deserve public answers.”

Marjorie Taylor Greene wears a “Trump Was Right About Everything” hat during an address by President Donald Trump to joint session of Congress in the House Chamber of the US Capitol on March 4, 2025.

Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty Images/File

Podcaster Joe Rogan has occasionally gestured at such questions, and fellow podcaster Tim Dillon recently went so far as to state: “I think maybe it was staged.”

Carlson and Candace Owens, meanwhile, have connected the questions to a player in many such conspiracy theories: Israel. (Notably, both have focused extensively on Israel in their commentary and faced frequent accusations of antisemitism.) Carlson suggested Kent could have a point that the lack of a more thorough investigation of Butler demonstrates Israel’s influence over the American government.

The accused would-be assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks, left little in the way of a paper trail. But FBI officials under both Trump and former President Joe Biden have concluded that Crooks acted alone.

Other such theories also predictably involved Israel, especially the idea that Trump is compromised or beholden to the Jewish state.

Carlson earlier this month subtly likened Trump to a slave in an interview with Newsmax, saying, “I feel sorry for him, as I do for all slaves. He is not free in this moment.”

And in a new show this week, another former Trump-supporting podcaster, Theo Von, suggested one logical explanation for the Iran war was that Trump was in the grip of Israel.

“I don’t understand,” Von said. “So yeah, that’s what our president’s up to, and it’s fking baffling. And it’s sick, and it feels like he’s just been compromised by Israel, by this dark government over there. And I don’t know. It’s fking dark. It’s dark.”

White nationalist Nick Fuentes has detailed an elaborate conspiracy theory in which JD Vance was effectively installed as vice president to be a tool of powerful forces in the tech industry.

And Fuentes’ comments were reposted Friday by former GOP vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin — though Palin insists she only meant to highlight an approving shout-out for her role in the tea party movement. (Palin hasn’t turned against Trump, though she has recently been critical of him on a couple fronts.)

Trump’s decision to appear on Alex Jones’ conspiracy theory-laden show in late 2015 was, in retrospect, a major statement of intent when it came to Trump’s desire to ally with conspiracy theorists. But Jones is now wielding such theories against Trump after breaking with him over Iran, including accusing Trump on Monday of trying to help Democrats take over his platform InfoWars (the Onion, a satirical news site that is working to take over InfoWars, is not controlled by the Democratic Party).

And then there’s perhaps the most undersold theory that’s getting some traction — that Trump could be the antichrist. In Christian theology, the antichrist is a figure that appears before Jesus’ second coming to deceive people and embodies a false savior.

This was a theory that Carlson hinted at recently amid his big break with Trump. And Wired magazine found that some Trump supporters with significant followings are starting to ask questions about it.

Tucker Carlson attends an event at the White House in January.

Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

It remains to be seen what will become of those theories on the right. It could be that some sudden Trump skeptics are just spouting off and it will all subside.

But it’s not difficult to see some of them gaining real purchase, especially given the theories involve a familiar culprit (Israel) and a familiar set of circumstances that often breeds such theories (an attempted assassination).

The people targeting Trump have proven quite successful at spreading such theories in the past, including Jones, Owens and Carlson. And the theories are also getting some traction among a class of podcasters — people like Dillon and Von — who were valuable Trump supporters in part because they spoke to people who are less engaged politically and perhaps more easily influenced.

Republican Party leaders have largely stood by in recent months as anti-Israel and antisemitic sentiments have risen in their ranks, especially among younger Republicans. And they’ve mostly tried to ignore metastasizing conspiracy theories about Charlie Kirk’s assassination, which have been pushed most forcefully by Owens.

But they might wish they’d pushed back more forcefully, given those sensibilities could now feed into conspiracy theories involving Trump — helped along by some recently alienated allies.

涉传播儿童性虐待内容 英国对Telegram展开调查

2026年4月22日 17:35 / 联合早报

涉传播儿童性虐待内容 英国对Telegram展开调查

（图/Pixabay ）

（伦敦综合电）英国政府对社媒平台Telegram展开调查，有证据显示儿童性虐待内容在Telegram上传播，而且有色魔利用青少年聊天平台向孩童伸出触角。

除了Telegram，英国政府也着手调查在线聊天室Teen Chat和Chat Avenue，查看它们是否履行职责，防止儿童使用者成为性侵犯者的诱骗对象。

英国通信管理局执法总监凯特周二（4月21日）说，与这些公司沟通过后，认为它们并未为儿童提供足够的保护。“这些公司必须采取更多措施保护儿童，否则将根据网络安全法面临严重后果。”

英国政府先前已发布声明警告，如果社媒平台不配合通信管理局的命令，撤下未经当事人同意而发布到平台上的私密影像，该平台所属科技公司的高管可能被追究责任，面临监禁。

工党政府已针对犯罪与警务法案提出修正案，并将这项惩罚措施列入其中，希望借此保护民众免受低俗的网络色情内容之害。

英国将成全球首个国家 禁AI生成儿童性虐图像

国际特稿：社媒不是法外之地 科技大佬再难卸责

今年2月，英国政府表示修正案将要求科技公司在48小时内删除未经同意传播的私密影像，否则将面临最高相当于其全球收入10%的罚款，严重情况下甚至可能在英国被禁止提供服务。

根据修正案，违法的科技公司高管面临监禁或罚款，或两者兼施；持有或发布描绘乱伦或成年人假扮儿童的色情影像属于刑事犯罪，最高可判处五年监禁。

此前，马斯克旗下社交平台X的人工智能（AI）助手Grok，因能够生成色情深度伪造图像而引发国际谴责。

英国网络安全事务部长纳拉扬说，太多女性的私密影像被他人擅自发布到网上，导致她们的生活支离破碎。

特朗普星期二（4月21日）下午在社媒贴文宣布延长与伊朗的停火协议。图为特朗普星期二在白宫国宴厅，向美国大学体育协会大学联赛全国冠军发表讲话后离开会场。 （彭博社）

特朗普星期二（4月21日）下午在社媒贴文宣布延长与伊朗的停火协议。中国外交部星期三（22日）郭嘉昆表示，当前地区局势处于战和转换的关键阶段，当务之急仍是全力避免战端重启。北京支持相关方继续坚持通过政治外交途径化解争端，实现全面持久停火止战。

在美国与伊朗的停火协议即将到期的数小时前，美国总统特朗普星期二（4月21日）下午在社媒平台Truth Social贴文宣布，应斡旋方巴基斯坦的请求，他同意延长停火期限，直至伊朗方面提交一个“统一方案”，完成谈判。

特朗普同时指示美军，继续对伊朗实施海上封锁并保持战备状态。

《纽约时报》报道，在特朗普宣布延长停火前，美国副总统万斯原定前往巴基斯坦进行第二轮和平谈判的行程已被搁置。一名美国官员透露，搁置原因是德黑兰未回应美方立场。

特朗普的这份声明与他同日早前对美国消费者新闻与商业频道（CNBC）的说法截然不同。他告诉CNBC， 如果伊朗不满足美国的条件，他预计会轰炸伊朗，并称美军“已在摩拳擦掌”。而在星期一（20日）的一次电话采访中，特朗普说，如果美伊无法达成协议，他“极不可能延长”停火。

延伸阅读

美国面对“空椅子”找台阶？分析：伊朗正主导美伊谈判节奏
特朗普宣布延长停火到伊朗提交“统一方案”完成谈判

美伊两周停火协议从美东时间4月7日傍晚6时开始生效，原定在星期二傍晚到期。但特朗普星期一告诉媒体，停火将于美东时间星期三（22日）晚上8时，即新加坡星期四（23日）早上8时结束。

在特朗普宣布延长停火后，伊朗议会议长卡利巴夫的顾问穆罕默迪率先做出回应，在社媒平台写道：“特朗普延长停火毫无意义。战败方无权制定条件。”

中国外交部发言人郭嘉昆星期三在例行记者会上表示，当前地区局势处于战和转换的关键阶段，当务之急仍是全力避免战端重启。北京支持相关方继续坚持通过政治外交途径化解争端，实现全面持久停火止战，维护好中东和海湾地区和平稳定。

郭嘉昆表示，中国愿根据国家主席习近平“四点主张”精神，同国际社会一道，为此发挥积极建设性作用。

中国国家主席习近平4月14日会见访华的阿联酋阿布扎比王储哈立德，就维护和促进中东和平稳定提出四点主张：一、坚持和平共处原则。推动构建共同、综合、合作、可持续的中东和海湾地区安全架构。

二、坚持国家主权原则。中东海湾国家主权、安全和领土完整应当得到切实尊重，各国人员、设施、机构安全应当得到切实维护。

三、坚持国际法治原则。不能“合则用、不合则弃”，不能让世界倒回丛林法则。

四、坚持统筹发展和安全。

涉传播儿童性虐待内容 英国对Telegram展开调查

2026年4月22日 17:35 / 联合早报

涉传播儿童性虐待内容 英国对Telegram展开调查

（图/Pixabay ）

（伦敦综合电）英国政府对社媒平台Telegram展开调查，有证据显示儿童性虐待内容在Telegram上传播，而且有色魔利用青少年聊天平台向孩童伸出触角。

除了Telegram，英国政府也着手调查在线聊天室Teen Chat和Chat Avenue，查看它们是否履行职责，防止儿童使用者成为性侵犯者的诱骗对象。

英国通信管理局执法总监凯特周二（4月21日）说，与这些公司沟通过后，认为它们并未为儿童提供足够的保护。“这些公司必须采取更多措施保护儿童，否则将根据网络安全法面临严重后果。”

英国政府先前已发布声明警告，如果社媒平台不配合通信管理局的命令，撤下未经当事人同意而发布到平台上的私密影像，该平台所属科技公司的高管可能被追究责任，面临监禁。

工党政府已针对犯罪与警务法案提出修正案，并将这项惩罚措施列入其中，希望借此保护民众免受低俗的网络色情内容之害。

今年2月，英国政府表示修正案将要求科技公司在48小时内删除未经同意传播的私密影像，否则将面临最高相当于其全球收入10%的罚款，严重情况下甚至可能在英国被禁止提供服务。

根据修正案，违法的科技公司高管面临监禁或罚款，或两者兼施；持有或发布描绘乱伦或成年人假扮儿童的色情影像属于刑事犯罪，最高可判处五年监禁。

此前，马斯克旗下社交平台X的人工智能（AI）助手Grok，因能够生成色情深度伪造图像而引发国际谴责。

英国网络安全事务部长纳拉扬说，太多女性的私密影像被他人擅自发布到网上，导致她们的生活支离破碎。

印度学校设“喝水铃” 提醒学生喝水 防高温热浪

2026年4月22日 17:39 / 联合早报

印度气象部门已对德里发布“黄色预警”，警告本周晚些时候可能出现热浪。 （路透社）

印度气象部门已对德里发布“黄色预警”，警告本周晚些时候可能出现热浪。 （路透社）

（新德里法新电）印度发布新指令，要求所有学校定时鸣钟提醒学生喝水，以应对即将到来的热浪天气。

印度教育部周二（4月21日）发布指引，要求学校每45至60分钟响起“喝水铃”，并推行同伴制，让学生互相照顾。同时，学校应减少户外活动，避免在露天场所进行集会或上课，并加强补水的意识教育。

印度气象局对新德里本周可能出现热浪发布“黄色预警”。预计，新德里周三气温将升至41至43摄氏度，本周晚些时候可能达42至44摄氏度。

政府数据显示，2012年至2021年间，全国约1万1000人因中暑死亡。2024年5月，新德里气温曾升至49.2摄氏度，追平历史最高纪录。

印度近年来高温天气频发，与全球极端气候趋势一致，对公共健康持续构成压力。