Slush funds of anonymous unregulated money are now the dominant institutions in American politics, converting our elections into auctions – and transforming the legislative process into a donor bidding war.
In the last election, independent expenditure groups spent more money than the total amount spent by all congressional candidates combined. One in every $5 flowing through a Super Pac came from organizations that do not disclose their donors. In all, $2bn of “independent” spending was dark money, meaning the public cannot see who is buying elections – even though politicians know exactly who they owe once they are in office.
The current election cycle promises to be even worse: Super Pacs have already spent nearly a quarter of a billion dollars, fueled by donors in the artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency industries demanding policy favors from Washington. Again, much of it is anonymous cash: for example, new campaign finance filings show the second-largest donors to House and Senate Republicans’ Super Pacs are dark money groups.
An image showing an Israeli soldier using a jackhammer to smash a statue of Jesus on a cross in southern Lebanon went viral on social media on Sunday.
The U.S. has seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz after firing on its engine room, President Trump said in a post on social media.
The 13th Khartia Brigade has become one of the most visible and fastest-growing formations within Ukraine’s National Guard. What began as a volunteer unit defending Kharkiv in the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion has since expanded into a corps, operating along some of the most contested sections, including Bakhmut in 2023 and, more recently, the battles around Kupyansk, where it helped retake roughly 90 percent of the city.
Two U.S. Embassy officials died in a car crash on Sunday alongside one Mexican official and an officer in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. 
Eddie Murphy proved to be the undisputed king of comedy as the latest recipient of the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award on Saturday, April 18.
A senior State Department delegation traveled to Cuba on April 10 for talks with the government, a State Department official confirmed to USA TODAY. A senior State Department official also had a separate meeting with former Cuban leader Raul Castro's grandson during the visit, the person said.
On 8 April, Israel's military launched the psychopathically titled Operation Eternal Darkness against Lebanon, with predictably macabre results. In the span of a mere 10 minutes, Israel struck more than 100 sites across the country, killing more than 300 people and wounding at least 1,150.
