THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Venezuela ’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez told journalists Monday that her country had no plans to become the 51st U.S. state after President Donald Trump said he was “seriously considering” the move. Rodríguez was speaking at the International Court of Justice in The Hague on the final day of hearings in a dispute between her country and neighboring Guyana over the massive mineral- and oil-rich Essequibo region. “We will continue to defend our integrity, our sovereignty, our independence, our history,” said Rodríguez, who assumed power in January following a U.S. military operation that ousted then-President…

This article was originally published by Garrison Vance at Natural News.  Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi during a telephone call on Tuesday, May 5, that Tehran is prepared to meet global standards to demonstrate the peaceful nature of its nuclear program, according to a statement from Iran’s presidency published by the Turkish Anadolu Agency. Pezeshkian criticized what he called contradictory U.S. policies, saying Washington continues to apply pressure while calling for negotiations. [1] Al-Zaidi responded that Baghdad is prepared to support de-escalation efforts and could host talks between Iran and the U.S., the statement said. The appeal…

Connecticut crossed a line. They’re not the first to do it, admittedly, but as the most recent to do so, they’re going to draw all of the heat. The line they crossed was in banning firearms like the Glock, which can be converted via an illegal third-party-designed device to shoot full-auto. Glock has never approved of it, never sold the switches, or anything like that, but now they’re being demonized for people doing something they can’t legally do anywhere. And the entire thing is beyond stupid.In fact, it’s probably even dumber than you think.Second Amendment…

Pakistan quietly allowed Iranian military aircraft to park at its airfields during the recent U.S.-Iran showdown while simultaneously acting as a diplomatic intermediary between Washington and Tehran, according to new reporting by CBS News. Pakistan has long tried to maintain a difficult balancing act between its security relationship with the United States and its ties with neighboring Iran, a key regional player that shares a roughly 565-mile border with Pakistan. The new reporting could complicate ongoing negotiations that have so far been unsuccessful, raising questions about whether Pakistani territory may have quietly provided temporary sanctuary to Iranian military aircraft during…

With just a few days left in this year’s legislative session, anti-gun activists in Minnesota are doubling down on their efforts to pass a sweeping gun and magazine ban will. Lawmakers are supposed to adjourn one week from today, and the state Senate has already adopted a bill that would ban the manufacture, sale, and transfer of so-called assault weapons and “large capacity” magazines.  Anti-gunners were able to convince a handful of DFL state senators from more rural parts of the state to go along with the gun ban bill by including funding for mental…

Diablo 4 Season 13 has seen a huge meta shake-up thanks to the changes added in Lord of Hatred, such as the reworked Skill Trees and new Talisman mechanic. As a result, some of the worst Diablo 4 classes have become top meta contenders, while the inverse also seems to have happened as well. What was once the clear meta class for past Diablo 4 seasons has unfortunately become a shell of its former self, which is unfortunate considering that the Paladin is one of the two classes added with Lord of Hatred. In a surprising move, some of the…

United States President Donald Trump is vowing to take Iran’s enriched uranium, just a few days after seizing Venezuela’s. Trump said that the US will get hold of Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium “at some point,” repeating one of his key demands in peace talks. In an interview aired on Sunday, journalist Sharyl Attkisson asked Trump what stage the war with the Islamic Republic had reached, considering that the US has yet to secure Iran’s fissile material, accoridng to a report by RT.  “Well, we’ll get that at some point, whatever we want,” he said. “We have it surveilled, you know, I did…

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages 245 million acres of public land, or about one-tenth of the country’s land, so its decisions and policies can have major impacts. And since many of its rules can easily shift as the administrations in charge change, public land policy is subject to sharp swings between conservation and extraction. The birth, life, and death of the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule is a prime example. What Is This Rule? The Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, known as the Public Lands rule for short, was established in June 2024 under the Biden Administration. It…

The best thing that can happen to gun control laws is that they just die in the legislature. While anti-gunners obviously disagree, the reality is that any lawmaker can introduce any bit of insanity they want, and if they can convince enough of their colleagues that it’s a good idea, it becomes a law that has to then be challenged in court, taking years to be eventually tossed, and creating headaches for everyone impacted. In Hawaii, a notoriously anti-gun state, a number of bills just met the only noble end for them as the legislature…

Video game pricing has become more and more relevant as time has gone on, as it seems like every other year, the dollar value of big-budget releases creeps up another few digits. Gaming can be a costly investment in a lot of cases, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of amazing games out there that players can pick up, just by skipping their morning coffee. Hovering under the $5 range, and even cheaper during sales, these games deliver a range of different experiences, some story-related, others more looping in nature, to give players the most bang for their buck.…

After an outbreak of hantavirus killed three people on a cruise ship in recent weeks, Google searches for the disease have increased by more than 1,000% in some states. In general, the virus is rare and difficult to contract for most people. But that didn’t stop the disease from spreading to as many as 17 American passengers aboard the cruise ship. They arrived back in the U.S. on Monday, and will now be monitored at the National Quarantine Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. However, backpackers — and anybody who spends time in wooded areas — are actually at a…

An Ohio judge has cleared a woman who was facing murder charges in the death of her ex-girlfriend, ruling that the shooting was a justifiable use of force allowed under state law.  There was never any question that 26-year-old Marshee Luther shot and killed 29-year-old Taralynn Bowers last August. The dispute between prosecutors and Luther’s defense team was whether or not Luther had a reasonable belief that her life was in danger when she drew her gun and pulled the trigger. In fact, the prosecutors came awfully close to admitting that Luther’s life was in danger that…