Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is reportedly exploring ways to maintain his hold on power regardless of the outcome of the April election, as polls currently show the opposition with a significant lead. According to Bloomberg, Orbán is considering a move to assume the presidency and rewrite laws to transform the role into the country’s most powerful office — an idea he reportedly raised during a meeting with U.S. President Donald J. Trump at the White House last month.

Cambodia has resumed launching multiple-rocket attacks toward Thailand, reportedly firing from positions embedded within civilian areas.

President Donald J. Trump posted a confusing message on Truth Social claiming he had pardoned Tina Peters, the former Mesa County, Colorado clerk who was convicted by the *state*—not the federal government—in August 2024 on seven of ten charges related to a security breach carried out to promote false election-fraud conspiracies and attempt to overturn the 2024 presidential election in Trump’s favor. Peters was sentenced to nine years in prison and taken into custody in October 2024. Today’s “pardon attempt” comes as the Justice Department, under Trump’s direction, has so far failed to secure her release from Colorado authorities, despite public threats against the state and its governor from both Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Do Kwon, the South Korean cryptocurrency entrepreneur whose two digital currencies collapsed in 2022, wiping out an estimated $40 billion, was sentenced Thursday in New York federal court to 15 years in prison for fraud and conspiracy.

The Trump administration has imposed new sanctions on three nephews of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a businessman close to the regime, and six companies involved in shipping Venezuelan oil, Axios reported. The U.S. is also preparing to intercept additional vessels transporting Venezuelan oil following this week’s tanker seizure, according to Reuters, which cited six sources familiar with the plans.

Democrat Rep. Seth Magaziner, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, confronted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during today’s House Homeland Security Committee hearing over reports that several veterans had been deported. Magaziner: “Madam Secretary, how many United States military veterans have you deported?” Noem: “Sir, we have not deported U.S. citizens or military veterans.” Magaziner: “Madam Secretary, joining us on Zoom is Sae Joon Park — a U.S. Army combat veteran who was shot twice while serving our country in Panama in 1989. He was arrested in the 1990s for minor drug offenses… and earlier this year, you deported him to Korea, a country he hasn’t lived in since he was seven years old.”

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem walked out of today’s tense hearing before the House Homeland Security Committee, saying she needed to attend a FEMA Review Council meeting — a meeting that FEMA has since confirmed was canceled.

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul announced today that he will be “returning power to the people” as he submits a Royal Decree to King Vajiralongkorn seeking permission to dissolve Parliament, following a dispute with the country’s largest political party, the People’s Party. If the dissolution is approved, Charnvirakul will have sixty days to call new elections, as required by the Thai Constitution. He added that the move will not affect the ongoing conflict with Cambodia.

It appears that in 2024, Russian state hackers with the GRU successfully targeted and damaged several water utilities in Texas. The indictment is remarkable, detailing a years-long campaign in which Russian operatives carried out cyberattacks against Western infrastructure.

Joe Borelli: “Your dollar is worth 20% less today because of 21% CPI inflation under Joe Biden. Your wages are $3,000 lower on average — real American earnings fell by that much. That’s on Joe Biden!”