Authored by Jonathan Turley,

This week, the Chicago Bulls waived guard Jaden Ivey for “conduct detrimental to the team.”

No, Ivey did not assault anyone or gamble on games.

He did not call for violence.

Ivey expressed his opposing religious beliefs, including criticizing the NBA’s Pride Month celebrations.

There is no question that private companies have the right to control employees’ on-the-job speech, including barring demonstrations such as kneeling during the national anthem. However, the Ivey controversy exposes the hypocrisy of sports associations and teams in the combination of corporate virtue signaling and athlete speech limitations.

Companies in various fields have asserted the right to condition contracts on the possibility of termination due to public behavior or comments that are detrimental to the company.

Notably, this was a player speaking off the basketball court who was deemed “detrimental” to the brand. The main concern is the lack of consistency. Actors such as Rachel Zegler have tanked their own movies to use their platforms to advance their own political viewpoints. Likewise, athletes have routinely espoused controversial views on racial divisions or law enforcement without losing their contracts. Recently, teams supported athletes espousing anti-ICE sentiments. In other words, it is not advocacy but the cause that these companies focus on when allowing or punishing speech.

At the same time, the NFL and NBA require players to wear and espouse views that some of them — like some in the nation — may oppose. Ivey was objecting that he does not feel that Pride Month is espousing “righteous” lifestyles. Ivey was not attacking the Bulls or the game. He was asserting that he does not support the virtues or values being endorsed by the company.

Many of us were offended by social media postings by Ivey in referring to Catholicism as a “false religion.” He also drew the ire of many by telling a fan that “God does not hear your prayer if you are a sinner.”

However, it appears that it was his criticism of the LGBTQ community and Pride Month that ended the matter with the NBA. Ivey objected to the advocacy required by the NBA, objecting “they proclaim it. They show it to the world. They say, ‘Come join us for Pride Month,’ to celebrate unrighteousness.”

The issue of “talent” becoming notorious has long been a focus of sports and entertainment contracts. Hateful or divisive public comments can impact a brand or corporate image. For example, a team does not have to continue an association with a racist spewing hateful remarks about fans.

The Ivey controversy should force a discussion of the countervailing responsibilities of the teams and the NBA. Some of us have previously criticized the virtue-signaling of associations like the NFL, with giant statements in the end zones and on players’ helmets. Many fans would like these teams to stop lecturing them and simply play sports. We do not need morality or civics lessons from the likes of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

However, if the NFL and NBA are going to get into the business of shaping fans’ values, they may need to accept greater leeway for athletes who hold opposing values. Instead, they are expecting athletes like Ivey to effectively endorse approved values while barring them from expressing dissenting views.

This is not the first such controversy. Years ago, former coach Tony Dungy was the subject of a cancel campaign because he expressed his faith at a pro-life rally.

Former Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio was punished for expressing a dissenting view of what happened on January 6th and what he viewed as the different treatment given to these cases, including excessive sentences.

Likewise, recently, Chicago Cubs player Matt Shaw was the target of a campaign to trade him after he attended the funeral of Charlie Kirk.

Sports organizations, like other businesses, have every right to bar protests and political statements at games. They should, however, apply the same standard to themselves. It is time to get virtue signaling and social statements out of sports. Teams need to stop picking sides on social and political issues while blocking opposing views from their athletes. Once out of the business of shaping public values and views, these teams will be in a better position to demand that athletes avoid controversial public statements that alienate fans or harm a brand.

Otherwise, teams could simply bar such commentary during games and allow athletes the same freedom of expression outside of the game that the teams enjoy during games.

None of this means that Jaden Ivey is right or admirable in his specific statements. It only means that, if teams want him to just play basketball, they should do the same.

Jonathan Turley is a law professor and the best-selling author of “Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution.”

* * *

Iranian media has announced that national forces have shot down a US fighter jet, and a US search and rescue effort is is active over Iran in an effort to locate two crew.

Israeli media as well as Axios are also reporting it, with emerging photos and videos suggesting it is an F-15 fighter jet. “Iranian state media published pictures and videos that allegedly show parts of the downed plane and one of the ejection seats,” Axios writes. Photos initially released via state Fars:

BIG: Iranian state media released images of debris from a U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet.

Iran initially claimed it had shot down an F-35, but the wreckage shown clearly matches an F-15E. pic.twitter.com/JMQvv0h2yo

— Clash Report (@clashreport) April 3, 2026

There are also emerging reports that Iran may have captured one of the pilots, while separately Israel’s N12 reports that the US has sent “large forces” to rescue the crew. Presumably this is an aerial mission, including spotter aircraft and helicopters – leading to potential greater exposure to ground fire.

It is possible that US Special Forces operators could also be involved in the rescue mission, but CENTCOM within the opening hours of the incident has not confirm anything.

A McDonnell-Douglas ACES II (Advanced Concept Ejection Seat) from a US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle has been found by residents in Southern Iran, the whereabouts or status of the pilot and weapons officer is currently unknown:

DropSite News, which maintains sources inside Iran, writes the following:

An Iranian official told Drop Site News that a U.S. F-15 warplane struck by Iranian forces went down over southern Tehran Province, with intense fire reported at the crash site. The official said the nature of the strike prevented the pilot[s] from ejecting before the aircraft crashed. No remains have been found.

There have been images and footage also circulating showing very low flights by potential US military spotter aircraft, likely looking for surviving crew of the F-15.

A US Air Force HC-130J “Combat King II” Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) Aircraft seen flying extremely low over the countryside of Southern Iran.

A U.S. Air Force HC-130J “Combat King II” Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) Aircraft seen flying extremely low over the countryside of Southern Iran, as the search continues for the crew of a downed American F-15E Strike Eagle. pic.twitter.com/vQL7umqmYy

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) April 3, 2026

Evidence of low-flying helicopters deployed as part of the recovery efforts…

Crazy, scenes from the ongoing US search operation in the Dehdasht area of the Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, southwest Iran. pic.twitter.com/Leksyki4Xu

— War Flash (@WarFlash_2630) April 3, 2026

After more than a month of Trump’s Operation Epic Fury, the Pentagon has lost a slew of aircraft, including heavy refueling tankers, drones, and even three F-15s downed over Kuwait (which CENTCOM claimed was a ‘friendly fire’ incident). A stealth F-35 was also damaged, resulting in an emergency landing in a Middle East country.

Neither the US military nor the White House have immediately respond to requests for comment.

Following S&P Global’s Manufacturing PMI’s better than expected print higher (signaling resilience in the face of March’s war in Iran), the data released this morning showed the US Services Sector experienced a contraction of activity at the end of the first quarter of 2026.

The headline S&P Global US Services PMI Business Activity Index recorded 49.8 in March, down from February’s 51.7 and lower than the earlier ‘flash’ estimate of 51.1.

It was the first decline recorded in over three years amid the weakest rise in new work since April 2024.

“The PMI survey data show the US economy buckling under the strain of rising prices and intensifying uncertainty, as the war in the Middle East exacerbates existing concerns regarding other policy decisions in recent months, notably with respect to tariffs,” said Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence

The service sector has slipped into contraction for the first time since January 2023, dragging the overall economy down to a near-stalled 0.5% annualized rate of growth in March…

Worst hit is consumer-facing service sectors where, barring the pandemic lockdowns, the downturn reported in March was among the steepest recorded since data were first available in 2009.

However, financial services and tech, both of which performed strongly last year, have shown some signs of weaker performance amid financial market volatility and concerns over higher interest rates, which have deterred investment.

“Key to the deteriorating growth trend is a pull-back in spending amid worsening affordability, with costs and selling prices surging higher in March amid spiking energy prices.

The survey data are broadly consistent with consumer price inflation accelerating close to 4% as firms increasingly seek to push through higher costs onto customers in the coming months. “

The stagflationary environment of stalled growth and surging price pressures pictured by the PMI presents a major challenge to policymakers, especially with the March survey also indicating falling employment.

“Clearly much depends on the duration of the conflict. The fact that business confidence has merely dipped and not slumped is a sign that businesses are hopeful of a swift resolution to the war,” added Williamson.

“However, a concern is that the energy disruption unleashed by the war in the Middle East may well have an impact that lasts far longer than any actual conflict and may test the resilience of business and households over the coming months.”

Ironic that this occurred during a month that saw the economy add a surprising 178k jobs.

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

As NASA’s Artemis II mission — the first crewed flight around the Moon in over half a century — gets underway, some in the media couldn’t resist injecting race into humanity’s greatest technical achievement.

Instead of celebrating the engineering triumph and the daring crew pushing the boundaries of exploration, certain outlets fixated on skin colour and “representation.” This is the same crowd that claims to champion science, yet they reduce every milestone to identity politics.

A Sky News reporter declared that the Apollo missions to the Moon “didn’t represent humanity because ‘Apollo was all white men…’” highlighting how even lunar history must now be filtered through the lens of grievance.

Sky News Reporter says that the Apollo missions to the Moon didn’t represent humanity because “Apollo was all white men…”pic.twitter.com/xuvLEeWFOu

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 2, 2026

They couldn’t even exclude a manned moon mission, a stepping stone to colonising Mars, from this twisted obsession.

In a separate incident, a reporter attempted to goad NASA astronaut Victor Glover, pilot on Artemis II and incidentally the first person of colour to venture beyond low Earth orbit on a lunar mission, into giving a DEI soundbite.

Glover’s response, however, was a masterclass in sanity, as he responded, “I hope one day we can look at this as human history, not black history or women’s history.”

NASA pilot Victor Glover CLAPS back after being asked what it means to be the first black man to visit the moon: “It’s the story of humanity, not black history, not women’s history, but that it becomes human history.”

“I also HOPE we are pushing the other direction that one day… pic.twitter.com/0ctJfiWVRE

— RedWave Press (@RedWavePress) April 2, 2026

Glover’s crew — including commander Reid Wiseman, mission specialist Christina Koch (the first woman to fly this far), and Canadian Jeremy Hansen — represents the best of merit-based selection, not quotas. Yet the race-obsessed can’t let it stand on its own.

X users weren’t having any of the nonsense. One sharp reply nailed the absurdity: “No mission will ever represent humanity until we have the world’s first trans, non-binary, dual spirit, free Palestine astronaut of color!”

No mission will ever represent humanity until we have the world’s first trans, non-binary, dual spirit, free Palestine astronaut of color! pic.twitter.com/y0lgjxqQ5y

— MAGAMemeNY (@MAGAMemeNY) April 2, 2026

This fixation isn’t new. During Apollo, the focus was on beating the Soviets and landing on the Moon — full stop. No one paused the Saturn V countdown to lecture about demographics.

The 650 million people glued to their TVs in 1969 weren’t obsessing over the astronauts’ skin color; they were witnessing what free people, driven by merit and competition, could achieve. Now, as Artemis II builds on that foundation toward Mars, the same voices demand we rewrite the past to fit today’s dogma.

Real progress comes from excellence, not enforced outcomes. The Moon — and eventually Mars — doesn’t care about race quotas. It demands the sharpest minds and the boldest spirits. That’s the spirit that built Apollo and will get us back there and beyond.

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

The Pentagon shake-up under Trump has not ended, as on Thursday Pete Hegseth has dismissed Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, asking him to step down into early retirement.

The move is unusual, given this is the head of the Army and the United States is past the one-moth mark in Trump’s Operation Epic Fury. A reason hasn’t been given as to what amounts to Gen. George being effectively fired.

CBS writes, “One of the sources said Hegseth wants someone in the role who will implement President Trump and Hegseth’s vision for the Army.”

A top defense official has also said: “We are grateful for his service, but it was time for a leadership change in the Army.”

The chief of the Army is typically a four-year term, and already there’s speculation over who will be the likely candidate to lead next:

The current vice chief of staff of the Army, Gen. Christopher LaNeve, who was formerly Hegseth’s military aide, will likely be considered as a replacement. He previously served as the commanding general of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division from 2022 to 2023.

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point posted photos on social media on Thursday of George, saying he “shared experience-driven guidance with cadets preparing to lead” during a visit.

There’s been some serious background controversy over the last weeks among top command ranks regarding the Trump admin’s preferences:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is blocking the promotion of four Army officers to be one-star generals, a highly unusual move that has prompted some senior military officials to question whether the officers are being singled out because of their race or gender.

Two of the officers targeted by Mr. Hegseth are Black and two are women on a promotion list that consists of about three dozen officers, most of whom are white men, senior military officials said.

Mr. Hegseth had been pressing senior Army leaders, including Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll, for months to remove the officers’ names, military officials said. But Mr. Driscoll, citing the officers’ decades-long records of exemplary service, had repeatedly refused.

As for Gen. George, he was commissioned as an infantry officer out of US Military Academy in 1988 and saw deployments in Operation Desert Shield, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom. He later served as vice chief of staff of the Army from 2022 to 2023, before being nominated by Biden to become Army chief of staff.

Via Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com,

Wall Street money manager and financial analyst Ed Dowd of PhinanceTechnologies.com warned at the end of January that the “Credit Destruction Cycle” was showing up in something called private credit. 

Dowd was worried about extreme risk in the economy, especially with all the growth in lending in the last two years coming from private credit. 

Has this gotten better or worse? 

Dowd says, “It’s gotten worse, and it has spread…”

“The number if credit funds that have gated their investors keeps growing.  This is important because high net worth individuals, insurance companies and pension funds put millions of dollars in these private credit funds and now they want to redeem them, and there is a gate.  The last two years of loan growth in the economy was from banks loaning to private credit. . .. There have been earth shaking events in private credit land.  That started a cascading effect of people becoming worried about their private credit fund. 

Then, redemptions started, and some funds like Blue Owl have taken massive hits.  They had to gate their fund.  Apollo gated their fund.  Black Rock gated their fund, and KKR has gated their fund. 

So, there is a lot of gating going on. 

Basically, this is the beginning of the credit cycle rolling over. 

This starts in the most egregious sector, which looks like private credit. . .. 

So, the credit market is starting to end the party, and we are going to see this cascade throughout the whole economy.”

The Iran war just turbocharges the entire negative global scenario. 

Dowd says, “You layer on top of this the Iran war and that only hastens the whole thing unless there is a quick resolution.”

Isn’t Iran getting creamed financially speaking?  Dowd say:

“Financially speaking, yes, but we have no way to know what’s going on or who they are negotiating with.  It’s kind of an information black hole.  There is propaganda from our side and their side. 

My hope is that this is resolved as quickly as possible without troops on the ground. 

If we got that, and the Strait of Hormuz is opened rather quickly, there would be a rally in our markets, but the forces bearing down on the economy are going to happen regardless. 

There will be a temporary relief rally, but what I am predicting is still going to roll through the system. 

If there is no quick resolution, then this will hasten everything because there will be global demand destruction. 

This will hasten a global recession that I see coming no matter what.”

Dowd put out a report forecasting what’s coming in 2026.  Any way you cut it, not many will escape the pain, and there is a lot left to come in Dowd’s 2026 forecast.  Dowd says, “I am in a very conservative mood…”

“Our call from our economic report is risk assets are going to be under pressure. 

Cash is king in this scenario. . .. We think inflation is going to be coming down.  Even though we call this an oil price shock,  it’s not an inflation shock because demand destruction will eventually come. 

Inflation will go up in the near term, but inflation will roll over as everything else will roll over price wise, especially the housing part of the CPI.  That is already under pressure. 

Rents have been coming down, and home prices always follow.  It is now cheaper to rent a house than to own a house. 

Home prices are going to come down, and that will cause a recession in and of itself. 

You throw a bursting AI bubble on top of that and a Chinese economy that is going into the tank this year and you get a global recession…

…Let me remind you, private credit already started to have its problems before the war even started with Iran, and private credit is the canary in the coal mine.”

Dowd is still forecasting gold to hit $10,000 per ounce in the next few years (2030) and is also still bullish on silver long term.  Dowd goes into detail about the severe problems China is facing with its economy and does not see how it can be a global financial superpower anytime soon.  This is fascinating analysis on China’s financial situation that everybody should listen to.  (Order the full China report here.)   Like Martin Armstrong, Dowd is also a big fan of stocking up on food and water in case of supply chain disruptions.

There is more in the 47-minute interview.

Join Greg Hunter of USAWatchdog as he goes One-on-One with money manager and investment expert Ed Dowd as he explains why we are starting to see big trouble for the US economy.   Dowd predicted this was coming in January with his report called “US Economy Outlook 2026.”

We titled our nonfarm payroll preview post “a substantial bounce” and boy were we right: with consensus expecting a material rebound from February’s negative print (which was revised as usual worse, from -92K to -133K), what the BLS reported instead was a huge beat to expectations of a 65K increase, with March jobs reportedly rising by 178K, the biggest increase since December 2024.

The number was driven entirely by a surge in private workers which added 186K in March, far above estimates of 78K. Government workers continued to drop, sliding by 8K in March and now negative 8 of the past 9 months,

This was not only higher than all estimates but was a 3 sigma beat to the median forecast, something we haven’t seen in over a year.

In keeping with tradition, the previous month’s data was revised sharply negative, from -92K to -133K, despite expectations of an upward revision. Yet for once there was an upward revision in the historical data: the change in total nonfarm payroll employment for January was revised up by 34,000, from +126,000 to +160,000, and the change for February was revised down by 41,000, from -92,000 to -133,000. With these revisions, employment in January and February combined is 7,000 lower than previously reported. (Monthly revisions result from additional reports received from  businesses and government

A quick look at the Household survey shows that while the establishment survey posted a solid increase of 178K, the Household increase declined again, dropping by 64K, the 3rd month in a row.

This means that despite all attempt to revise away the impact of illegal immigration, it still lingers with total number of payrolls (Establishment) running well ahead of employed workers (Household).

There was more good news: the unemployment rate actually dropped from 4.4% to 4.3% amid expectations of an unchanged print. This was despite a drop in the actual number of employed workers (per the Household survey) but offset by an even bigger drop in the civilian labor force, which declined by almost 400K, from 170.483MM to 170.087MM.

While the unemployment rate dropped, the labor force participation rate slumped to a 5 year low, largely due to the halt of illegal immigration, helping keep unemployment depressed.

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for people who are Asian (3.7%) decreased in March. The jobless rates for adult men (3.8%), adult women (4.0%), teenagers (13.7%), and people who are White (3.6%), Black (7.1%), or Hispanic (4.8%) all posted a modest sequential drop. 

There was some good news for the Fed too, with a 0.2% increase in monthly average hourly earnings, below the 0.3% est and down from 0.4% in February, the annual increase in hourly earnings was just 3.5%, the lowest in 3 years, and below estimates of a 3.7% increase. It appears that the most important metric for the Fed – hourly earnings – is starting to take on water.

A few additional highlights from the report:

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) changed little at 1.8 million in March but is up by 322,000 over the year. The long-term unemployed accounted for 25.4 percent of all unemployed people in March. 
Both the labor force participation rate, at 61.9 percent, and the employment-population ratio, at 59.2 percent, both at multiyear lows 
The number of people employed part time for economic reasons, at 4.5 million, changed little in March. These individuals would have preferred full-time employment but were working part time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs. 
The number of people not in the labor force who currently want a job changed little at 6.0 million in March. These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for work during the 4 weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to take a job. 
Among those not in the labor force who wanted a job, the number of people marginally attached to the labor force increased by 325,000 in March to 1.9 million. These individuals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but had not looked for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.
The number of discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available for them, increased by 144,000 in March to 510,000. 

Taking a closer look at the Establishment survey, in March job gains occurred in health care, in construction, and in transportation and warehousing. Federal government employment continued to decline. 

Health care added 76,000 jobs in March. Employment in ambulatory health care services rose by 54,000, reflecting an increase of 35,000 in offices of physicians as workers returned from a strike. Employment also increased in hospitals (+15,000). Over the prior 12 months, health care had added an average of 29,000 jobs per month. 
Employment in construction grew by 26,000 in March but had shown little net change over the prior 12 months.
Transportation and warehousing added 21,000 jobs, reflecting a gain in couriers and messengers (+20,000). Employment in transportation and warehousing is down by 139,000 since reaching a peak in February 2025.
Employment in social assistance continued its upward trend in March (+14,000), primarily in individual and family services (+11,000).
Federal government employment continued to decline in March (-18,000). Since reaching a peak in October 2024, federal government employment is down by 355,000, or 11.8 percent. Federal employees on furlough during the partial government shutdown were counted as employed in the establishment survey because they worked or received (or will receive) pay for the pay period that included the 12th of the month.
Employment in financial activities edged down by 15,000 in March, reflecting a loss in finance and insurance (-16,000). Employment in financial activities is down by 77,000 since reaching a peak in May 2025.

Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; retail trade; information; professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; and other services.

As noted above, the best news was that government workers dropped again, now for the 6th straight month and 8 of the past 9.

Developing

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

In the latest salvo against British identity, a Liberal Democrat-run council has formally branded the simple act of flying the England flag an “act of intimidation and division” – and backed it up with a legal notice threatening residents with prosecution.

Oxfordshire County Council is pushing a county-wide crackdown by on the grassroots Raise the Colours campaign, which has been putting up Union Flags and St George’s Crosses in public spaces as a straightforward show of patriotism. The council’s message is clear: national symbols are now suspect.

A Liberal Democrat-run council is attempting to ban residents from raising “intimidating” St George’s Cross and Union flags, issuing a formal stop notice to the Raise the Colours campaign group. https://t.co/IlHHsPZG0v

— Toby Young (@toadmeister) April 1, 2026

The council issued the formal stop notice to the Raise the Colours group, warning that continued flag displays could lead to civil and even criminal proceedings. Council leader Liz Leffman charged that “The widespread installation of flags by Raise the Colours is not a sign of patriotism. It is an act of intimidation and division that is having a real and damaging impact on our communities.”

Another council wants to stop patriots from raising the Union Jack flag.

“The abuse you get is always from white university students up to middle age.

“It is NEVER from the ethnic minorities!” @TVKev @FLYtheFLAG_uk pic.twitter.com/0suw5PA5QQ

— Talk (@TalkTV) April 1, 2026

She added that residents and council teams removing the flags “had been subject to abuse and threatening behaviour” when challenging those installing them. “This is totally unacceptable,” Leffman said.

She added, “The council has a responsibility to act where behaviour undermines community cohesion and the safe and inclusive use of public spaces. That is why we are taking firm action. We won’t hesitate to take further legal steps where necessary to protect residents and support the cohesion of our communities.”

This comes just weeks after a leaked UK Government “social cohesion” strategy branded the flying of English, Scottish, and Union Jack flags as potential “tools of hate.”

The draft document explicitly claimed these national symbols were sometimes used “to exclude or intimidate” and stated that “the extreme right has tried to turn symbols of pride into tools of hate.”

‘They despise symbols of national pride!’

Deputy Leader of Durham County Council Darren Grimes unleashes a furious attack against the Labour Government, as a leaked review dubs flying UK flags from lampposts as ‘tools of hate’. pic.twitter.com/PXreBCY0mB

— GB News (@GBNEWS) March 7, 2026

Additionally, earlier this year councils across the country admitted spending over £100,000 of taxpayers’ money hiring contractors to rip down Union flags and St George’s crosses from lampposts.

Freedom of Information requests showed the true cost is even higher. Medway Council alone burned nearly £11,600 removing over 700 flags. Yet when ordinary Brits push back by flying them anyway, the state responds with legal threats.

British and English flags are returning across Birmingham after the council lifted a previous ban. National symbols fly once more, sparking debates over identity, community, and civic expression. #Birmingham #England #UKFlags #NationalIdentity pic.twitter.com/dvrUI9JeDp

— Zinnia Embry (@Nemanja4252) March 13, 2026

The Raise the Colours campaign emerged directly from public frustration over mass immigration, grooming scandals, and taxpayer-funded hotels for illegal migrants. Rather than address those root issues, authorities are criminalising the visible symbols of the host culture. Flying the flag that represents the very nation these officials are supposed to serve is now labelled divisive.

Leffman and her Lib Dem colleagues are not protecting “inclusivity.” They are erasing it. British communities have every right to celebrate their heritage without being painted as extremists. The same councils that bend over backwards for every foreign flag and cultural demand suddenly discover “intimidation” when the St George’s Cross goes up.

This is the logical endpoint of years of institutional hostility toward British identity. First the Union Flag was quietly sidelined, then the St George’s Cross was mocked as “far-right,” and now councils are issuing legal notices to stop it altogether. The message to patriots is unmistakable: keep your head down or face the consequences.

Britain doesn’t need more lectures on “cohesion” from people who treat its flag as a hate symbol. It needs leaders who defend the right of citizens to be proud of their country without apology. Until that changes, groups like Raise the Colours will keep flying the flag – and more residents will notice exactly who is trying to stop them.

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Summary

Trump: US needs “a little more time” to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while floating the prospect of seizing oil amid potential island or ground campaign

Iran and Hezbollah fire 140+ rockets during Jewish Passover, with sustained barrages hitting Israel

French-owned vessel becomes first Western-linked/European ship to transit Hormuz since war began, signaling a tentative thaw after weeks of near-total shipping freeze

Iran targets Gulf infrastructure, including a Kuwaiti desalination plant, while UAE defenses intercept large-scale missile and drone waves and energy facilities face disruptions

*  *  *

‘More Time’ To Retake Strait, ‘Make A Fortune’: Trump

With some US Special Forces units already in the region, and with thousands more Marines and Sailors en route, and after Trump earlier floated at least two to three more weeks of major strikes on Iran, the president on Friday morning wrote on Truth Social that “with a little more time, we can easily OPEN THE HORMUZ STRAIT, TAKE THE OIL, & MAKE A FORTUNE… 

This as the question of some kind of direct ground intervention, likely starting with strategic islands near the Strait, could be unfolding. Certainly the timeline has stayed open-ended and keeps getting extended with pledges of just ‘a little more time’. Easily?

And this more specific threat was issued a day earlier, the same day as Iran’s B1 bridge getting destroyed by a deadly double-tap strike…

Over 140 Rockets Rain Down During Passover in Israel

It’s the Passover period in Israel, and Iranian and Hezbollah missiles have been unrelenting, with The Wall Street Journal documenting that they unleashed more than 140 rockets and missiles on Israel, citing the Israeli military – highlighting sustained firepower more than five weeks into the war, and after various estimates have claimed Iran’s stockpile is diminishing.

Tehran fired roughly 20 missiles that penetrated Israeli territory, while Hezbollah launched over 120 rockets into northern Israel within a 24-hour window from early Wednesday to Thursday, Israeli military spokesman Nadav Shoshani said. The military described the barrage as an escalation on both fronts, also as this week the Houthis have become direct launches on Israel, having confirmed coordination in these waves with Tehran.

Reports of Iranian ballistic missile strikes having damaged water pipelines in Tel Aviv, causing flooding in several areas.

🇮🇱🇮🇷BREAKING: Iranian ballistic missile strikes have damaged water pipelines in Tel Aviv, causing flooding in several areasز#IRGC #IranWar‌ #USA #Israel #Tel_aviv #attack #BREAKING #News pic.twitter.com/HhAgndmeAy

— Conflict Atlas (@Conflict_Atlas) April 3, 2026

Additional rockets also targeted Israeli troops operating inside Lebanon during the same timeframe. Israel, which launched a ground offensive into southern Lebanon last month to push Hezbollah forces back, now faces continued cross-border fire despite the expanding campaign, and people across northern Israel have in many cases been forced to evacuate again, just as during the two-year Gaza war.

First French-Owned Vessel Of War Passes Through Hormuz Strait

A French-owned vessel has become the first Western European-linked ship to transit the Strait of Hormuz since the Iran war erupted in late February, according to ship-tracking data and European media. The Maltese-flagged CMA CGM Kribi, part of the world’s third-largest container line, sailed eastbound Thursday from waters off Dubai, marking a potential tentative return of European-linked shipping through the chokepoint.

Tracking data showed the vessel openly broadcasting its French ownership as it hugged the Iranian coastline, passing through the designated corridor between Qeshm and Larak. The move breaks a weeks-long freeze, with the ship having sat idle in the Gulf since early March alongside many foreign vessels after the conflict effectively shut down commercial traffic.

This after Thursday’s reports that Iran and Oman are working on a protocol to allow passage of vessels. Tanker traffic through the key oil-shipping route “should be supervised and coordinated” between the two countries, Iran’s Foreign Ministry had said.

Iran Attacks Kuwaiti Desalination Plant

Kuwaiti authorities claimed Iranian forces targeted a power and desalination plant, sounding even more alarm bells that civilian infrastructure is increasingly moving into the crosshairs.

Bloomberg quoted Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy as saying an Iranian strike damaged components of the water desalination plant. This suggests Tehran has exposed the vulnerability of critical water infrastructure across a region that relies heavily on these facilities, which remove salt and impurities from seawater or brackish water for drinking water and other agricultural or industrial uses.

Unconfirmed reports that US F-15 went down over Iran, amid possible large search and rescue operation:

Quite incredible footage from USAF deep inside over Iran as SAR reportedly continues pic.twitter.com/DV5t3yqM5m

— Faytuks News (@Faytuks) April 3, 2026

Al Jazeera’s Mohamed A. Hussein explains the importance further: “The Gulf states are deserts with no permanent rivers. While they lack rivers, they do have seasonal waterways called wadis, which carry water during rare rainfall. These nations rely primarily on groundwater and desalination to supply water to their rapidly growing cities, industrial zones and agricultural areas.”

Latest Iranian Wave of Attacks on Gulf 

Per Al Jazeera, UAE air defenses have stayed busy, having intercepted 18 ballistic missiles, four cruise missiles and 47 drones launched from Iran on Friday, citing defense ministry numbers. In total since the Iran war began, UAE has engaged 475 ballistic missiles, 23 cruise missiles and 2,085 UAVs – the UAE military says further.

Energy infrastructure continues to feel the impact, with operations at Habshan, the UAE’s massive onshore gas-processing hub operated by ADNOC Gas in Abu Dhabi, having been confirmed halted on Friday after authorities said a fire broke out at the facility due to “falling debris” from a “successful interception by air defense systems” of an Iranian air-delivered munition. 

“Abu Dhabi authorities are responding to an incident of falling debris at the Habshan gas facilities following a successful interception by air defense systems,” the UAE’s Emergency, Crisis, and Disaster Management Center wrote on X.

US equity futures dipped ahead of today’s payrolls report in a holiday-shortened session, with most cash markets including US stocks closed globally for Good Friday. Sifma, the US financial markets trade association, recommended trading of dollar-denominated bonds during US hours only and a 12pm New York time stop. As of 8:15am, S&P and Nasdaq futures are down 0.2%. Bonds dipped modestly in a holiday-shortened session, the 10Y yield rising 1bp to 4.31%. The dollar was mixed against its Group-of-10 peers.  Oil rallied above $110 a barrel Thursday after Trump issued fresh threats against Iranian infrastructure in an effort to pressure Tehran in negotiations. West Texas Intermediate surged 11%, while the global Brent benchmark settled near $109. The jobs report is the main event on today’s calendar and is due at 8:30am (preview below). 

Iran targeted more sites in Arab Gulf states overnight and into Friday. A container ship signaling French ownership exited the Strait of Hormuz, in what appeared to be the first known transit by a vessel linked to Western Europe since the Iran war all but shuttered the vital waterway.

The main highlight today is the March jobs report (full preview here) which is expected to show a sharp rebound from February weather – and strike -related weakness, with a median forecast for nonfarm payrolls change of 65k; Bloomberg Economics anticipates a 150k rebound

With most of Europe closed for Good Friday, Asian stocks were the only action overnight and rose at the end of another volatile week with a report leading to some optimism that more traffic may be allowed through the Strait of Hormuz. Regional shares followed a recovery in US equities Thursday on news that Iran is drafting a protocol with Oman to monitor traffic through the key waterway, having effectively shut it down since the start of the war. Trading was light in Asia with many key markets shut for holidays. 

MSCI’s benchmark Asia Pacific Index gained 0.7%, with South Korea’s yoyoing Kospi rising 2.7%, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbing 1.3%. China’s CSI 300 Index reversed an earlier advance to drop 0.9%.

“The improvement in US risk appetite has spilled over” into Asian equities, said Hitoshi Asaoka, chief strategist at Asset Management One Co. in Tokyo. “While oil prices may not fully return to previous levels, if they do partially normalize, there is considerable room for a rebound from a liquidity perspective.”

On Thursday, US stocks started off deep in the red after Trump’s speech late Wednesday did little to reassure investors that the war was nearing a swift resolution, though he had previously set a two-to-three-week timeline for ending the conflict. However, they subsequently soared on some speculation transit through the strait may soon be allowed. The higher close for the S&P 500 on Thursday ran counter to a pattern of late-week selloffs that have hit the market ever since the war began, as nervous investors unwind positions that could be upended if weekend developments threaten to worsen the hit to the global economy.

“While assets gyrate on every new headline, until a clear agreement is achieved with a palatable plan for reopening the Strait, there’ll be downward pressure on economic growth and upward pressure on headline inflation,” said Max Gokhman, deputy CIO, Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions. “That spells indigestion for both equity and bond investors.”

The dollar was mixed against its Group-of-10 peers. US stock-index futures, also open for an abbreviated session, declined, with contracts on the S&P 500 down by 0.3%.

In rates, treasury futures held small losses ahead of the release of March employment data: benchmark yields were higher by 1bp-2bp, with the 10Y yield rising to 4.3128% after ending Treasury little changed having erased oil-led increases amid increasing investor focus on eventual recession risk from the oil shock.

Oil rallied above $110 a barrel Thursday after President Donald Trump issued fresh threats against Iranian infrastructure in an effort to pressure Tehran in negotiations. West Texas Intermediate surged 11%, while the global Brent benchmark settled near $109.

“With US payrolls coming up and a holiday ahead, markets are wary of what could happen over the weekend — especially the first weekend after” Trump’s prime time speech on Wednesday, said Rina Oshimo, a senior strategist at Okasan Securities Co. in Tokyo. “If attacks escalate or retaliations occur, oil prices could remain elevated for longer.”

JPM interest-rate strategists advised taking profit on their March 20 recommendation to buy 2-year Treasuries at 3.891%, which was based on the potential for higher oil prices to stoke recession concerns; the yield ended Thursday just below 3.80%, and the exit call was made because of the risk that strong March employment data will erode expectations for a Fed rate cut this year. Trading of CME interest-rate futures is scheduled to end at 11:15am, and Bloomberg dollar-denominated bond indexes will be priced at 1pm based on prices collecting through 12pm. Oil markets also are closed; oil prices have been a principal driver of bond yields since the surge unleashed by the Feb. 28 start of the US war against Iran, and US benchmark WTI crude futures closed Thursday at the highest level since 2022

The main even on today’s calendar is the March jobs report is expected to show a rebound from February weather- and strike-related weakness, with a median forecast for nonfarm payrolls change of 65k. US economic data calendar also includes March final S&P Global US services and composite PMIs; no Fed speakers are slated.