U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Friday he would not resign from Downing Street after his Left-wing Labour Party suffered devastating losses in local elections across the country, while the Right-wing party led by Trump ally Nigel Farage made sweeping gains.
Early results suggest British voters up and down the country have delivered a scathing rebuke of Keir Starmer, who led Labour to a landslide general election victory in the summer of 2024.
Starmer’s approval ratings have plunged amid voter anger over mass migration, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/apr/22/uk-inflation-rises-soaring-fuel-prices-iran-war">stubborn inflation</a>, and strains on the National Health Service. Public opinion polls show he&#8217;s the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/30/uk/keir-starmer-labour-party-conference-intl">least popular</a> Prime Minister in British history. 
Amid the disastrous results, some Labour members have <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/8958faa6-cbde-499b-8016-b89ef857a22b?syn-25a6b1a6=1">called on Starmer to step down</a>.  Starmer said he&#8217;s not going anywhere.
&#8220;Let me be clear, these are really tough results. I&#8217;m not going to sugarcoat it,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/SkyNews/status/2052659124173709523?s=20">Starmer told reporters</a>. &#8220;The voters have sent a message about the pace of change, how they want their lives improved. Labour was elected to meet those challenges, and I&#8217;m not going to walk away from those challenges and plunge the country into chaos.&#8221; 
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&#8220;I&#8217;m not going to walk away and plunge the country into chaos.&#8221;
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer reflects on &#8220;really tough&#8221; results from the local elections in England, with Labour losing hundreds of council seats.
Latest 🔗 <a href="https://t.co/SZHhkmXZUF">https://t.co/SZHhkmXZUF</a>
📺 Sky 501 <a href="https://t.co/LJVKBhKnVJ">pic.twitter.com/LJVKBhKnVJ</a>
— Sky News (@SkyNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/2052659124173709523?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
In the United Kingdom, voters elect councillors who oversee services such as schools, housing, road maintenance, waste collection, libraries, policing budgets, and local planning decisions. Thursday&#8217;s vote included roughly <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/world/united-kingdom/starmer-labour-reform-farage-uk-election-rcna344013">5,000 local government contests</a> in England, along with races that will shape control of the Welsh and Scottish parliaments.
Reform U.K., England&#8217;s Right-wing party, has won more than 700 council races across the country, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c1428pev1n0t">according to the BBC.</a> Labour, in distant fourth place, has lost more than 470 races. 
Farage, who has campaigned on restricting immigration and cutting taxes, called the results a &#8220;historic shift in British politics.&#8221; 
“Labour are being wiped out by Reform in many of their most traditional areas, and what you’re going to see later on today is the Conservative Party being wiped out in their heartlands,”<a href="https://x.com/LBC/status/2052731245402964195?s=20"> Mr. Farage said.</a> &#8220;I would honestly say you’re witnessing a historic shift in British politics. This is now the most national of all parties.”
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&#8216;We are the only true national party!&#8217;
Nigel Farage was in jubilant mood after Reform won control of Havering, outlining his hopes for further success as results continue to roll in. <a href="https://t.co/W4rEs6G6lU">pic.twitter.com/W4rEs6G6lU</a>
— LBC (@LBC) <a href="https://twitter.com/LBC/status/2052731245402964195?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
President Donald Trump has repeatedly ripped into Keir Starmer over a range of issues, including his plans to cede control of the Chagos Islands and Starmer&#8217;s initial refusal to grant the United States access to UK military bases for operations related to Operation Epic Fury.
In March, Trump expressed disappointment with the United Kingdom and lashed out at the British leader. 
&#8220;This is not Winston Churchill that we&#8217;re dealing with,&#8221; Trump said of Starmer in the Oval Office. 
As results across the pond pour in, the ascendant Right-wing leader predicts the tides will continue to turn.  
&#8220;I suspect when you see the full results in the red wall, there&#8217;ll be a rebellion,&#8221; Farage said. &#8220;Personally, I&#8217;d be very sad to see the Prime Minister go. I would be very, very sad indeed. He&#8217;s the greatest asset we&#8217;ve got.&#8221;
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Reform UK has wiped out the Tories and won Essex County Council.
Kemi Badenoch would not even hold her own seat. <a href="https://t.co/hNOeZ7tM6X">pic.twitter.com/hNOeZ7tM6X</a>
— Reform UK (@reformparty_uk) <a href="https://twitter.com/reformparty_uk/status/2052707168357376209?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2026</a></blockquote>

Nigel Farage Celebrates With New Reform Councillors In Havering

U.K. Leftists Demolished As Right-Wing Picks Up Big Election Wins

Elections

Keir Starmer

Nigel Farage

United Kingdom

A judge in the United Kingdom convicted a Christian pastor on Thursday for preaching on one of the Bible’s most well-known verses outside of a hospital that performs abortions. 
Pastor Clive Johnston was fined over $600 by Judge Peter King for preaching on John 3:16 inside a so-called “Safe Access Zone” outside the Causeway Hospital in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland&#8217;s “Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act” sets up buffer zones outside facilities where abortions are done, restricting protests, sidewalk counseling, or other pro-life activities. 
Johnston was prosecuted after leading an open-air Sunday service outside the Causeway Hospital on July 7, 2024, that did not mention abortion. Prosecutors accused him of attempting to influence a “protected person” or “recklessly” behaving in a way that could influence a person. 
“This is a dark day for Christian freedom,” he said after the conviction. “And yet the buffer zones law is so broad that holding a Sunday service has been found to be a criminal offence. And at 78 years of age I find myself, for the first time, convicted of a crime.”
“I know it was an unusual place to hold an open-air service but that was the point: There shouldn’t be any public spaces in Northern Ireland where you can be prosecuted and convicted simply for preaching the gospel,” he added. 
Video from the day of the open-air service shows a police officer warning Johnston that he may only share the gospel in a &#8216;safe&#8217; chaplaincy room inside the hospital.
“However, if you are reckless as to the effect that they could have on patients, staff, or any protected person, then you may be committing an offense,” the officer said. 
“But while you&#8217;re out here in the safe access zone, any act in that area, which may” dissuade a “protected person” from using a “service” could be an offense, the officer said. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨NEW CLIP 🚨: 👮UK police officer tells pastor he may ONLY share the gospel in a “safe” chaplaincy room inside the hospital, not on the street where it MAY offend someone or dissuade them from getting an abortion.
What an utterly incredible exchange 👇 <a href="https://t.co/SmeBIwfzNA">pic.twitter.com/SmeBIwfzNA</a>
— Lois McLatchie Miller (@LoisMcLatch) <a href="https://twitter.com/LoisMcLatch/status/2046858116688499019?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Johnston was supported in his legal defense by The Christian Institute, a United Kingdom-based organization devoted to “upholding the truths of the Bible.” The organization’s director, Ciarán Kelly, said they would help Johnston look at appealing the ruling. 
“Despite assurances to the contrary when this legislation was being considered, we now see that an already controversial and deeply unjust law has now been selectively applied to criminalise gospel preaching,” Kelly said. “If the ruling stands it will represent a shocking new restriction on freedom of religion and freedom of speech so we will be helping Clive to consider the options for appeal.”
Last month, a State Department spokesman <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2026/04/16/us-prosecution-british-pastor-abortion-clinic/">said</a> that the United States was monitoring the case with concern. 
“The UK’s persecution of silent prayer represents not only an egregious violation of the fundamental right to free speech and religious liberty, but also a concerning departure from the shared values that ought to underpin US-UK relations,” a spokesman told The Telegraph.

Clive-Johnston-5D0A8180_2-2

Pastor Convicted For Preaching On John 3:16 Outside Hospital

Abortion

Free Speech

Ireland

People in Britain often say that the United States is much like the United Kingdom. Recent polling by Freshwater Strategy showed that the British public thinks that the U.K., as a country, would be the 7th richest U.S. state. The actual 7th richest state, North Dakota, boasts a GDP per capita of $102,000 compared to the U.K.’s $52,000.
Many Brits assume that in both economies most people are poor, while a small number of individuals accumulate vast wealth at the top. In this myth, the U.S. suffers from the same perceived problem as Britain of inequality without wider prosperity.
The uncomfortable reality, however, is that the average Brit is significantly poorer than most Americans.
By GDP per capita, parts of America that are routinely described as economically lagging outperform the British economy. Even Mississippi, often cited as the poorest state, has a GDP per capita of $54,000. That should be a sobering benchmark. This is not a story about inequality in Britain but about weak national wealth creation.
Britain retains the self-image of a rich country but its underlying performance tells a different story — one of high taxes, vast regulation, weak productivity growth, and poor incentives for entrepreneurs.
This reality has shaped the political climate. Between 2008 and the E.U. referendum in 2016, living standards stalled. The Brexit vote was, in part, a collective response to that stagnation and a demand for a different economic trajectory. Leaving the E.U. was never a growth strategy in itself but rather an opportunity to pursue one.
In this respect, Brexit was — and still is — a fork in the road. Britain has greater autonomy over its regulatory, tax, and trade policy. The question is whether that autonomy is used to drive growth or not. My forthcoming story of the Brexit referendum, <a href="https://www.bitebackpublishing.com/books/ten-years-on">Ten Years On</a>, chronicles the campaign and what has happened since.
<div id="attachment_1087613" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1087613" class="size-large wp-image-1087613" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-2271018760-864x576.jpg" alt="Pedestrians walk across the Millennium Bridge above the River Thames in central London on April 16, 2026. Britain's economy grew much stronger than expected in February, prior to the start of the Middle East war, official data showed on April 16 ahead of a likely hit from the US-Iran conflict. (Photo by Henry NICHOLLS / AFP via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-2271018760-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-2271018760-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-2271018760-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-2271018760.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Henry NICHOLLS / AFP via Getty Images</div>
In some areas, Britain has benefited from its post-Brexit freedoms. Examples of this range from tech, where being outside the E.U.’s regulatory regime has allowed the U.K. to be more nimble, to healthcare, where we can now approve new drugs far faster. Overall, however, we have not made as much of these freedoms as we should have. 
Critics blame Brexit for Britain’s economic stagnation, but much of it stems from longer-term policies that have held back prosperity.
The preconditions for entrepreneurship are not new, nor are they particularly complicated. I recently co-authored a book with Dr. Arthur B. Laffer and others called <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Prosperity-Through-Growth-Standards-Disinformation-ebook/dp/B0FP3WPW6Z/ref=sr_1_1?crid=RCU8GVEQ5895&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Qi7pfmaBWI3SOK7ThVB1F6kdMIM62-7Uwj6luPyjVkDKKI54VPK7IVlT1dVJfFQu.OQ-kNm7gXECxObiXcJrN6HqpotDFqUx2dulfB9kD06w&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=prosperity+through+growth">Prosperity Through Growth: Boosting Living Standards in an Age of Autocracy and AI.</a> We argue that growth requires low tax rates, low government spending, sound money, smart regulation, and free trade.
Ultimately, prosperity is generated not redistributed. The focus of economic policy should be incentivizing entrepreneurship rather than redistribution. Without economic growth, debates about inequality become zero-sum.
Britain’s problem isn’t that wealth is unevenly distributed. It is that the overall economic pie has grown too slowly for too long. And that pie is being cut into ever more pieces with the explosion of migration to the U.K.
This explains a paradox that defines modern Britain. All the fundamentals are there, but the incentives often discourage entrepreneurship. Inequality becomes more visible not because of a few too rich people but because the middle is comparatively squeezed.
Americans, on the other hand, enjoy higher median incomes. Take plumbers, for example, who earn $62,000 on average in America, compared to $43,000 in Britain. As President Kennedy once said, &#8220;A rising tide lifts all boats.&#8221;
The danger is that the debate remains focused on distribution rather than growth. Framing Britain as a country with a few very rich people and many struggling households risks misdiagnosing the problem.
A more accurate diagnosis is that Britain is an underperforming advanced economy. It has the capabilities to be significantly more prosperous than it currently is, but has failed to convert those capabilities into sustained growth.
The implication is straightforward. If Britain wants to meaningfully raise living standards, it must prioritize policies that incentivize growth.
The European Union referendum result reflected a demand for change. Whether that demand ultimately leads to greater prosperity depends not on the act of leaving the E.U., but on what we do with the freedoms that followed. Ironically, when critics of Brexit cite studies suggesting that the U.K. economy would be 8% bigger had it stayed in the E.U., those studies assume Britain would have grown at the same rate as the United States in the period since 2016. 
I look forward to seeing the British people enjoy the same pro-growth policies and prosperity that Americans enjoy.
* * *
Matthew Elliott is President of the Jobs Foundation and is a member of the House of Lords. He was also the Chief Executive of Vote Leave.

TOPSHOT-RACING-ENG-ASCOT

Britain Could Be Richer. It Keeps Choosing Not To Be.

Brexit

Economy

European Union

Great Britain

Two Jewish men were stabbed by a 45-year-old man in London on Wednesday in what witnesses have described as a targeted attack. 
A knife-wielding man was detained after attacking men in Golders Green, a largely Jewish north London suburb, according to reports from the United Kingdom. Shomrim, a Jewish neighborhood patrol group, said the attacker was targeting “Jewish members of the public.”
The attacker was <a href="https://www.mynewsdesk.com/uk/metpoliceuk/news/man-arrested-after-two-stabbed-in-barnet-508805">running</a> through the neighborhood with a knife before being confronted by members of Shomrim. The attacker was later tased and arrested by police after attempting to stab responding officers. Police have labeled the attack as terrorism. 
The victims — one in his 30s and the other in his 70s — were treated at the scene by Hatzola, a local volunteer medical group. They have since been transported to the hospital in stable condition. 
Police have arrested the man on suspicion of attempted murder and said they are trying to determine his nationality and background.  
“We are aware of the significant distress and concern this incident is likely to cause in the face of a number of incidents in the local area,” said Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams. “A suspect is in custody, and investigators are considering all possible motives.
The stabbing spree followed a suspected arson attack in the neighborhood on Monday. 
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer <a href="https://x.com/Keir_Starmer/status/2049460049139900719">called</a> the attack “utterly appalling.” 
“Attacks on our Jewish community are attacks on Britain,” he said. “Thank you to Shomrim, Hatzola, and the police for acting swiftly. Those responsible will be brought to justice.”
London Mayor Sadiq Khan condemned the attack and said police “have stepped up high visibility patrols in the area.”
Member of Parliament Chris Philp said the British government was not doing enough to combat radical Islam. 
“This is yet another appalling antisemitic attack. The Jewish community are not being properly protected from this hate. We have seen Iran sponsoring antisemitic attacks and Islamist extremism run rampant,” he <a href="https://x.com/CPhilpOfficial/status/2049449357674484065">said</a>. “The government must urgently step up tangible actions against antisemitism, Iran, and Islamist extremism.”
One 30-year-old Jewish man told The Telegraph that the government had not done enough to protect his community.
“We used to feel very comfortable here. We thought we were safe and that the Government had our backs,&#8221; he <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/04/29/two-men-stabbed-outside-golders-green-synagogue/">said</a>. &#8220;But so much has happened in the past few weeks and all we get is reassurances and words of condemnation from the prime minister.&#8221;
The attack comes as King Charles visits the United States and is set to visit the 9/11 Memorial in New York City on Wednesday.

Two Stabbed In Golders Green Area Of London

Violence In London Jewish Enclave During King Charles U.S. Visit

Islam

Jews

London

Stabbing

terrorist attack

In a show of tradition and diplomatic goodwill, President Donald Trump and King Charles III exchanged symbolic gifts on Tuesday during the British monarch’s state visit.
King Charles gave Trump a historically significant, high-quality reproduction of the 1879 design plans for the Resolute Desk, which sits in the Oval Office. The 1,300-pound desk was crafted from salvaged timbers from the British ship H.M.S. Resolute, as The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/28/us/trump-king-charles-visit-gifts.html">reported</a>. The original design plans are housed at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England.
In return, Trump gifted the British Monarch a framed copy of a 1785 letter from then-U.S. ambassador to Britain John Adams to John Jay, who was serving as U.S. Secretary of Foreign Affairs. Adams, who would later become the nation’s second president, described in the letter a meeting with King George III in which both sides agreed to move forward amicably despite lingering bad feelings from the Revolutionary War. 
The exchange was widely seen as a symbolic nod to the enduring relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.
First lady Melania Trump and Queen Camilla also exchanged gifts. Melania Trump presented the queen with a set of six engraved silver spoons from Tiffany &amp; Co., while Queen Camilla gifted the first lady a designer brooch.
It was also revealed this week that Trump and King Charles share a distant familial connection, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/yes-kings-trump-is-related-to-british-monarch-charles-iii">reported</a>. Research cited by The Daily Mail traces both men&#8217;s lineage back to the 3rd Earl of Lennox, a great-grandson of King James II of Scotland, making them 15th cousins.
The official White House X account highlighted the discovery, sharing a chart tracing back the ancestry research along with a screenshot of Trump&#8217;s reaction on Truth Social: “Wow, that’s nice. I always wanted to live in Buckingham Palace!!! I’ll talk to the King and Queen about this in a few minutes!!!”
King Charles and Queen Camilla are visiting the United States as the country approaches the 250th anniversary of its independence from Britain, a milestone both sides are marking as a sign of the continued strength of the transatlantic alliance. The royal couple arrived in the United States on Monday and is scheduled to visit Washington, D.C., New York, and Virginia.

Trump King state visit

King Charles, Camilla Brought Gifts To The White House. Here’s What They Got In Return.

Donald Trump

King Charles

Monarchy

Royal Family

United States

Maybe he’s a king after all? According to a newly published <a href="https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15770263/Mail-traced-Trumps-family-tree-Kings-cousin.html">report</a> from The Daily Mail, President Trump shares a common ancestor with the British monarch King Charles III.
The news broke the day after Charles and his wife arrived in the United States for an official state visit. Their research shows that the connection starts with the 3rd Earl of Lennox, a great-grandson of King James II of Scotland. This ultimately makes Trump and Charles III 15th cousins. 
The official White House X account posted about the findings, including a chart tracing back the ancestry research. They also included a screenshot of the president’s Truth Social post about it, which said, “Wow, that’s nice. I always wanted to live in Buckingham Palace!!! I’ll talk to the King and Queen about this in a few minutes!!!”
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👀 <a href="https://t.co/DP7jAYh7Qj">pic.twitter.com/DP7jAYh7Qj</a>
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/2049115763777085519?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 28, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Trump and King Charles have another thing in common, namely remaining calm in the face of would-be assassins. Trump has been remarkably brave when confronted with someone trying to murder him not once, not twice, but three times — first in Butler, Pennsylvania when a bullet grazed his ear after he miraculously turned his head at the precise right moment, and again on Saturday night when a gunman crashed the White House Correspondents’ Dinner armed with multiple weapons and the intent to kill the president.
More than three decades ago in 1994, King Charles (then Prince Charles) was targeted by a crazed activist himself while giving a speech in Australia. David Kang, 23, fired off two blanks and tripped onto the stage where Charles was speaking before being tackled by the future monarch’s security detail.
The whole time, the Prince of Wales can be seen looking on with a mildly sour look on his face, without cowering in fear or ducking for cover.
King Charles and Queen Camilla are visiting the United States as the country approaches the 250th anniversary of its independence from Britain as a signal of the strong relationship between the two countries. The royal couple will visit Washington DC, New York, and Virginia between April 27 and 30.
Buckingham Palace issued a statement on Sunday evening following the assassination attempt, saying the event did not change their plans.
&#8220;The King and Queen are most grateful to all those who have worked at pace to ensure this remains the case and are looking forward to the Visit getting underway tomorrow,&#8221; the statement said.

King Charles and Donald Trump

Is Trump In Line For The British Throne? The Connection To The Royal Family

King Charles III

The United Kingdom is taking a dramatic step beyond discouraging smoking, moving to eliminating the choice altogether for future generations after Parliament approved legislation banning cigarette purchases for anyone born on or after January 1, 2009.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill has now cleared both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, but it does not become law until it receives Royal Assent from King Charles III. The last time Royal Assent was refused was in 1708.
If formally approved, the law will set up a system where the legal smoking age effectively rises every year, meaning a 17-year-old today born in 2009 will never be legally allowed to buy cigarettes.
Government officials are celebrating the measure as a sweeping victory for public health. As British news <a href="https://www.nationalworld.com/health/tobacco-and-vapes-bill-to-introduce-complete-ban-on-smoking-7059426">reported</a>, Health Secretary Wes Streeting called it “a historic moment for the nation’s health,” adding, “Children in the UK will be part of the first smoke-free generation, protected from a lifetime of addiction and harm.” 
“Prevention is better than cure – this reform will save lives, ease pressure on the NHS, and build a healthier Britain,” he said.
Health minister Baroness Merron echoed that sentiment in the Lords, calling it “a landmark Bill&#8221; that &#8220;will create a smoke-free generation.”
Public health advocates have gone further, presenting the legislation as the culmination of decades of anti-smoking activism. Hazel Cheeseman of Action on Smoking and Health said, “This is a decisive turning point for public health… the end of smoking, and the devastating harm it causes, is no longer uncertain – it’s inevitable.” Michelle Mitchell of Cancer Research UK called it “a historic achievement that will shield our children from the devastating grip of tobacco addiction.”
By tying restrictions to birth year, the law effectively creates a lifetime ban on purchasing tobacco products for those affected.
Even within Parliament, that approach has raised concerns. Conservative peer Lord Naseby warned that the bill risks missing the deeper issue. “What we really need is a proper understanding of how we educate people not to take up smoking,” he said, noting the legislation “does upset a great many people in that industry,” particularly small retailers now tasked with enforcing the rules.
The bill extends beyond cigarettes to include hand-rolled tobacco, cigars, and pipe tobacco. It grants ministers broad authority to regulate vaping and nicotine products, including their flavors and packaging, and expands restrictions on where they can be used. 
The legislation introduces financial penalties for stores in England and Wales that sell tobacco or vaping products in violation of the law.
New smoke-free zones will include playgrounds, schools, and areas around hospitals, while leaving private homes and some outdoor venues untouched.
Supporters argue these measures are necessary given the scale of smoking-related harm, which remains one of the UK’s leading causes of preventable death. Groups like <a href="https://www.asthmaandlung.org.uk/">Asthma and Lung UK</a> have described the bill as “transformative,” with CEO Sarah Sleet <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn08jy6w0l5o">saying</a> it will help ensure “the tobacco industry will no longer be able to wreak havoc on the lungs of the next generation.”
For a policy framed as a landmark, the precedent may prove just as significant as the public health gains it promises. The government is betting that this approach of phasing out smoking by design rather than discouragement will succeed where past efforts have only reduced the habit. Whether it becomes a model for future public health policy or a flashpoint in debates over government authority will depend on how it is implemented and how the public responds in the years ahead.

FDA To Propose Ban On Menthol Cigarettes And Flavored Cigars

Major Nation Slaps Lifetime Smoking Ban On Youth Just As Cigarettes Become ‘Cool’ Again

Cigarettes

Health

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Wednesday that the Biden administration knew the man suspected of murdering a DHS employee had a checkered criminal history, but granted him citizenship anyway.
Mullin said that 26-year-old Olaolukitan Adon Abel had an established criminal pattern before he was granted citizenship in 2022 by the Biden administration. Abel was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dhs-employee-murdered-while-walking-dog-as-biden-era-naturalized-suspect-emerges?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=DHS+Employee+Murdered+While+Walking+Dog+As+Biden-Era+Naturalized+Suspect+Emerges">arrested</a> earlier this week for murdering 40-year-old DHS employee Lauren Bullis in DeKalb County, Georgia, while she was out walking her dog.
“This individual not just had a pattern of criminal activity, but his pattern was every April. Every April, he had escalated his criminal activity, and the Biden administration knew this, law enforcement knew this, and they decided not to just deport him, but they allowed him to become a citizen, and then he escalated it to the point he did now,” Mullin said during an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Lauren Bullis, a DHS employee, was shot and stabbed while she was walking her dog by a citizen naturalized by the Biden administration.
This horrific incident is a devastating loss for the entire DHS community.<a href="https://twitter.com/SecMullinDHS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecMullinDHS</a> <a href="https://t.co/3QyPIbffEG">pic.twitter.com/3QyPIbffEG</a>
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) <a href="https://twitter.com/DHSgov/status/2044565998028656938?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Abel was arrested on Monday after police said that he went on a random killing spree that left Bullis and another woman dead, and a homeless man seriously injured. Bullis was shot and stabbed while out walking her dog Monday morning.
Born in the United Kingdom, Abel has an extensive criminal history including convictions for sexual battery, battery against a police officer, obstruction, assault with a deadly weapon, and vandalism.
Mullin said it did not appear to be a targeted killing, but said there must have been some connection to the month of April.
“So the question is, why April? There must have been something in his life that was triggering April, that he was acting out, but there was a direct pattern to it,” he said.
Bullis worked in the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security as an auditor.
“In every role she held, Lauren exemplified dedication to the OIG mission. Lauren approached her work with integrity, thoughtfulness, and a commitment to excellence that strengthened our organization and the communities we serve,” DHS <a href="https://x.com/DHSgov/status/2044473024808948076">said</a> Wednesday. “Beyond her professional accomplishments, Lauren was a bright spot for so many of the DHS community. She brought warmth, kindness, and a genuine sense of care to her colleagues each day.”

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Mullin Slams Biden’s Green Light For DHS Murder Suspect Despite Criminal Past

Crime

Department of Homeland Security

Illegal Immigration

Immigration

Joe Biden

Markwayne Mullin

U.S.

A Department of Homeland Security employee out walking her dog was brutally murdered in Georgia — by a man naturalized under former President Joe Biden, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Wednesday. 
Mullin said that Olaolukitan Adon Abel, the 26-year-old man suspected of killing 40-year-old DHS employee Lauren Bullis in Dekalb County was naturalized by the Biden Administration in 2022. Abel was born in the United Kingdom and has an extensive criminal history including convictions for sexual battery, battery against a police officer, obstruction, and assault with a deadly weapon, and vandalism, Mullin said. 
“He has also been arrested for the murder of an unidentified woman whom he reportedly shot outside a Checkers, before randomly shooting a homeless man multiple times outside a Kroger in Brookhaven,” Mullin <a href="https://x.com/SecMullinDHS/status/2044372949826683104">said</a>. “These acts of pure evil have devastated our Department and my prayers are with the families of the victims.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
On Monday, a DHS employee, Lauren Bullis, was brutally shot and stabbed to death by Olaolukitan Adon Abel, a 26-year-old, born in the United Kingdom, who was naturalized by the Biden Administration in 2022.
Since President Trump took office, <a href="https://twitter.com/USCIS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@USCIS</a> has implemented measures to…
— Secretary Markwayne Mullin (@SecMullinDHS) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecMullinDHS/status/2044372949826683104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Abel has been charged with two counts of murder and aggravated assault, in addition to multiple gun charges. 
Police have described the attacks as random, with the first beginning at 12:52 a.m. Monday morning and the second at around 2:00 a.m. Bullis was attacked at around 6:50 a.m. and died after being stabbed and shot. Her dog, Sancho, has been missing since the attack, according to local reporting. 
Mullin said that the Trump administration was working to ensure that only those with good character could attain American citizenship. 
“Since President Trump took office, [U.S.] Citizenship and Immigration Services] has implemented measures to ensure individuals with criminal histories and who otherwise lack good moral character do not attain citizenship,” Mullin said. 
In a later statement, Homeland Security emphasized the fact that the suspect was &#8220;NATURALIZED BY THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION&#8221; and said the department&#8217;s &#8220;prayers are with the families of the victims during this tragic time.&#8221;
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On Monday, DHS employee Lauren Bullis and two other victims were brutally shot and stabbed to death by Olaolukitan Adon Abel, who was NATURALIZED BY THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION.
Adon Abel&#8217;s criminal record includes convictions for sexual battery, battery against a police officer,… <a href="https://t.co/LuizgGZDzK">pic.twitter.com/LuizgGZDzK</a>
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) <a href="https://twitter.com/DHSgov/status/2044468456754438639?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Bullis worked in the office of Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security as an auditor and as a team leader in the Office of Innovation. 
“She was a respected colleague whose contributions and presence will be greatly missed. We extend our heartfelt condolences to her family and friends, as well as to the families, friends, and communities of the additional victims. We strongly condemn this act of violence,” the department <a href="https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/lauren-bullis-dekalb-shooting-spree-victim-family-statement/85-e5a5bbf9-3526-40cb-a686-ddf925961d9d">said</a>. “We will cooperate with the ongoing investigation but will not comment further on the suspect or the nature of the case.”
Her family said that she “deeply loved her family and found joy in running, reading, and traveling,&#8221; and that her “generosity touched everyone surrounding her.

DHS Employee Murdered While Walking Dog As Biden-Era Naturalized Suspect Emerges

Georgia

For years, Britain has prided itself on avoiding America’s bitter abortion wars. That pride came from a “settled” law that the public took as a “pragmatic compromise.” But a recent vote in Parliament has shattered that illusion, generating the first national debate in the United Kingdom on the issue in almost 60 years.
Since 1967, abortion has been permitted in Britain for any reason up to 24 weeks (almost 6 months) — already far later than in most of Europe — with complete allowance up to birth in cases involving serious risk to the mother’s life or health, or fetal disability.
But last week, Britain’s House of Lords backed a change that decriminalizes abortion outside the existing legal framework. In plain terms, while abortions carried out through the NHS will still operate within a regulated general 24-week limit, no laws will exist to deter women from ending their pregnancies outside that system — including at full term, for any reason whatsoever.
This isn’t hypothetical. It has already happened.
In 2010, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-19621675">Sarah Catt,</a> 35, from North Yorkshire, aborted her baby at 39 weeks — days before her due date. She didn’t carry out this abortion because of any medical crisis. She and her baby were perfectly healthy. Rather, she had the abortion because she was having an affair, and didn’t want her partner to find out.
Sarah was prosecuted under the law for killing her viable, late-term baby, but the changes pushed through by politicians means she will be fully pardoned — as if her actions were never immoral.
These cases are rare. But they matter, because they expose the very boundary the law once enforced — and what can happen when that boundary disappears.
The activism in support of the recent vote to change the law gained momentum in the past few years due to a small increase in the number of women investigated for potentially illegal abortions, following the introduction of pills-by-mail or &#8220;pills-by-post.&#8221; This Covid-era scheme enabled women under ten weeks pregnant to order abortion pills by phone, and take them with no in-person examination or medical supervision.
Following the pandemic, the government made the scheme permanent — despite evidence that it opened women’s health up to far greater risk. Around 20 women <a href="https://righttolife.org.uk/news/over-10000-women-needed-hospital-treatment-after-using-abortion-pills">per day</a> in 2020 had to be admitted to the hospital after taking the pills alone at home. Ambulance dispatches and emergency calls responding to abortion pill concerns <a href="https://www.gbnews.com/news/ambulance-dispatches-and-999-calls-responding-to-abortion-pill-concerns-have-risen-by-64-since-2019-gb-news-investigation/359311">rose by 64%</a> following the scheme’s introduction.
Without scans or examinations, ectopic pregnancies requiring urgent medical care are missed; and crucially, gestational ages are not confirmed. Relying on women to self-report how far along their pregnancy carries a minefield of risks.
The court case of Carla Foster exposed the danger of this approach. Carla, 44, obtained abortion pills after telling a provider she was less than ten weeks pregnant. In reality, she was around 34 weeks along. She took the pills at home to end the life of her fully-developed baby in utero, went into labour, and delivered a stillborn daughter, whom she later named &#8220;Lily.&#8221;
Lily was viable, healthy and pain-capable. She could have survived if simply allowed to be delivered alive. Foster later described being “haunted” by the experience. Nobody wants to see women go through this trauma; nobody wants to see developed babies, capable of survival, being killed at this late stage. The pills-by-post scheme should have been scrapped to prevent this happening again. Instead, parliamentarians removed the legal deterrents that prevent more women from following in Carla’s footsteps.
Across most of the continent, abortion on general grounds is limited to the first trimester — typically between 12 and 15 weeks. Britain’s 24-week limit is already by far one of the most permissive. Stripping away the legal enforcement of that limit is not a minor adjustment, but a radical departure.
Perhaps most striking is how out of step this is with public opinion. While most Britons support legal abortion in some circumstances, <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2183929/abortion-birth-voted-lords-legalised-infanticide">less than</a> 1% support abortion up to birth for any reason. 
In other words, this is not the result of overwhelming democratic demand. It is a top-down redefinition of moral boundaries — one that the public has barely begun to grapple with.
Even in Britain’s typically muted political landscape, alarm bells are starting to ring. Senior figures, from Reform MP Suella Braverman to Kemi Badenoch, leader of the Conservative Party, have broken the long-standing bipartisan reluctance to engage on this issue, warning that removing legal guardrails up to birth goes too far. In a country that has spent decades avoiding this debate, that shift alone is telling.
The British parliament has sent a signal that no abortion, no matter the reason, can ever be judged as immoral. The British public will now have to decide if they agree — or if it’s time to finally reopen the conversation, and look into how our laws can be better structured to support both mothers and their babies to thrive.
* * *
Lois McLatchie Miller (@LoisMcLatch) is a writer and commentator from Great Britain.

UK Parliament Ahead of 2025 Budget

Could Full-Term Abortion Become Reality In America? The Debate Just Shifted.

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President Donald Trump on Wednesday signaled a potential seismic shift in American foreign policy, questioning why the United States continues to shoulder the burden of policing the Strait of Hormuz for nations that refuse to support its strategic objectives.
&#8220;I wonder what would happen if we ‘finished off’ what’s left of the Iranian Terror State, and let the Countries that use it, we don’t, be responsible for the so called ‘Strait?’&#8221; Trump wrote. &#8220;That would get some of our non-responsive ‘Allies’ in gear, and fast!!!&#8221;
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The president’s comments highlight a glaring disparity: while the U.S. Navy has historically secured the waterway, the primary beneficiaries are Asian and European powers. China leads the pack, importing 38% of the oil transiting the strait, followed by India (15%), Japan (90% of its total crude), and South Korea. Meanwhile, Middle Eastern exporters like Kuwait and Qatar remain entirely or heavily dependent on the passage.
Despite this reliance, several European allies have refused to assist the United States in the current regional conflict. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/16/europe-donald-trump-strait-hormuz-iran"> stated</a> definitively, &#8220;We will not do so,&#8221; while Spain has gone as far as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/02/spain-denies-united-states-permission-military-bases-iran-pedro-sanchez">blocking</a> American forces from using its bases for operations against Tehran. <a href="https://www.military.com/feature/2026/03/15/italy-says-it-will-not-join-iran-war-and-begins-pulling-back-troops.html">Italy</a> and Greece have similarly declined military participation.
French President Emmanuel Macron has been particularly defiant. After the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iranian targets in late February, Macron labeled the actions &#8220;outside the framework of international law.&#8221; On Tuesday, he <a href="https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/03/france-will-never-take-part-operations-unblock-hormuz-strait-amid-hostilities">doubled down</a>, declaring France is &#8220;not a party to the conflict&#8230; will never take part in operations to open or liberate the Strait of Hormuz in the  current context.&#8221; While Macron deployed the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to the region, he insists it is for a &#8220;European-led&#8221; mission independent of Washington&#8217;s command.
Even the United Kingdom has hesitated, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer <a href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2026/03/18/pbcq-m18.html">stating</a> the UK will not be drawn into &#8220;the wider war.&#8221; Only Poland and the Baltic states have offered firm political backing, citing Iran’s military ties to Russia.
This lack of cooperation has forced regional exporters to scramble for alternatives. Saudi Arabia has <a href="https://energynewsbeat.co/saudi-arabias-pipeline-investment-pays-off/">boosted</a> its East-West Pipeline capacity to 7 million barrels per day (bpd), though effective export capacity at the Red Sea port of Yanbu remains capped at 3–4 million bpd. The UAE’s ADCOP pipeline to Fujairah is running at a maximum of 1.8 million bpd but has faced drone threats. Iraq, which recently signed a deal to resume exports through Turkey at a modest 250,000 bpd, remains largely paralyzed.
With 20 million barrels per day typically transiting the strait, the current bypasses are woefully insufficient. Trump’s message is clear: if the nations most dependent on this oil — and the &#8220;allies&#8221; who benefit from U.S. protection — refuse to stand with America against the &#8220;Iranian Terror State,&#8221; they may soon find themselves responsible for their own security in the world’s most dangerous chokepoint.

President Donald Trump Meets With German Chancellor Friedrich Merz At The White House

Trump Warns Allies: Help Fight Iran Or Secure The Strait of Hormuz Yourself

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When Islamists on horseback can intimidate and chase down anti-regime protesters on British streets without consequence, it raises a question no modern Briton ever expected to ask: is this still a country confident enough to protect dissent?
That is the question behind the startling <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/67f5fe6bb82cd78e3cd235719ccff719148d83a7?u=11850803">suggestion</a> from U.S. Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers to the Telegraph — Britons may soon be justified in seeking asylum in America. She was not being casually provocative for effect. She was serious — and each passing day strengthens her case.
With war now raging between the United States, Israel, and Iran, Britain is confronting a humiliating question: what does it say about our country when anti-Ayatollah Iranians can be harassed on British streets while police stand idly by? In Manchester, rival demonstrations erupted after the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and reports circulated — alongside <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/da2384697c47993ad15de8bdc876420559a23a03?u=11850803">widely shared footage</a> — that pro-regime Islamists on horseback were intimidating and chasing away Iranians near the Islamic Centre.
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UK: Pro-regime Iranian enforcers chased anti-Ayatollah Iranians near the Islamic Centre in Manchester. The police declined to intervene. <a href="https://t.co/HNkOOLH75p">pic.twitter.com/HNkOOLH75p</a>
— @amuse (@amuse) <a href="https://twitter.com/amuse/status/2030231214171255001?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Source: @amuse/X.com
To the shock of bystanders, police made no arrests. The astounded man filming the giant steeds and their bearded Islamic riders pleaded with police to know why the men weren’t being “nicked” (that’s arrested, in Northern parlance). “They’ve just chased people with their ‘orses!” he shouts; his broad Manchester accent starkly at odds with the Middle Eastern politics playing out on his streets.
“What are we supposed to do?” shrugs the short, young police officer, “Pull him off his horse?”
“Yes!” exclaimed the terrified onlooker.
This is the state of affairs in Britain: if your safety, social norms, or free speech are being compromised by Islamic agitators, the police stand by. Our accidental documentary-maker behind the cell phone summed it up nicely, “If he had a Union Jack on, he’d be off the horse.” He’s right.
Over the past thirty years, the United Kingdom has <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/c4330ffdf28b092bd3a9ded3c05868fc52d57f3f?u=11850803">quietly</a> redefined the social contract that underpinned British society. But even those of us who have watched a stream of Trojan horses sneak in cultural change didn’t foresee it morphing into actual horses on our streets.
And as Rogers correctly identifies, it is all underpinned by the demise of free speech. This has fallen off a cliff: not through dramatic constitutional rupture, but via bureaucratic growth under both Left and Right-wing governments. Millions of Brits, many of whom are my viewers on GB News, are relieved that the Trump Administration has been ringing the alarm bell on our behalf.
A growing number of ordinary citizens are being swept into the criminal justice system for social media posts, venting frustration on WhatsApp groups, and even uttering <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/c2bceac0258a441bd433e922797e28875d0bf888?u=11850803">unkind</a> words at protests. There were more than 12,000 <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/62470ed4abde1015105311facb04948e43d91009?u=11850803">arrests</a> in 2023 under Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 and Section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988 — laws that criminalize posting messages deemed &#8220;grossly offensive,&#8221; &#8220;indecent, obscene,&#8221; or causing &#8220;annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety.&#8221;
That&#8217;s roughly 33 arrests <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/a979482f8ee61bcacaa182549ce7da9ecb858cf5?u=11850803">per day</a> in a country where shoplifting is practically decriminalized, and less than 5% of home burglaries are solved.
While the laws curtailing speech were originally intended to deal with serious threats and targeted harassment, in practice, they can be applied far more broadly. Civil liberties groups <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/1cf9edb8541540b412d62c86505cf0d8ee16552f?u=11850803">argue</a> that the vagueness of what constitutes &#8220;offensive&#8221; content allows authorities to monitor or detain people for expressing controversial political opinions, satire, or clumsy humor.
Things became more extreme with the 2023 Online Safety Act, one of the most significant legal changes of the decade, granting the communications regulator (Ofcom) wide authority to compel platforms to remove content. It also creates new criminal offenses for incidents of &#8220;false and threatening communications.&#8221; But the act&#8217;s overly broad, subjective definitions and heavy penalties will lead to the censorship of lawful and harmless speech by tech firms trying to avoid multi-million dollar fines. Hundreds of people have already been <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/8bcf7660c7ddc8842b69fe45491a3fd9daa62bc6?u=11850803">charged</a> under the new regime for &#8220;illegal fake news&#8221; and &#8220;threatening communications,&#8221; with dozens convicted just months after it came into force.
Rogers is right to observe that this environment has produced something historically novel: a liberal democracy in which citizens increasingly self-censor not out of politeness, but out of fear.
Comedy writer Graham Linehan was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/irish-comedian-recounts-shocking-arrest-over-anti-trans-social-media-posts">arrested</a> last September at London&#8217;s Heathrow Airport after traveling from America, where he had <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/ed17a91d8bdab33570b575f3018e8c7d96f65a97?u=11850803">posted</a> on X about protecting women&#8217;s spaces from trans-identified males.
2023 also saw the arrival of enforcement <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/e1d16dc331f341b4db26779377550dfa0d97d162?u=11850803">against</a> &#8220;non-crime hate incidents,&#8221; a uniquely British invention that allowed police to record speech as hateful even when no law had been broken. The message is unmistakable: speech is tolerated only so long as it causes no discomfort to those empowered to define harm.
Contrast this with the American approach Rogers implicitly praises — the First Amendment as the cultural spine of American life. It protects speech precisely because it is offensive, destabilizing, or unpopular. American courts do not ask whether speech might cause emotional unease; they ask whether the state has any business interfering at all.
Critics will argue that Britain&#8217;s model is merely more &#8220;civilized&#8221; and that Americans fetishize absolutism. But balance presumes a neutral arbiter, and Britain no longer has one. When regulators, universities, employers, and police all share the same ideological assumptions, moderation becomes enforcement by another name.
What Rogers understands — and what many in Britain still resist — is that free speech is not primarily about manners: it is about power and control. Once the power to determine acceptable opinion shifts decisively to institutions, citizens become subjects in all but name. You may still speak, but only at your own risk.
This is why talk of asylum, literal or not, resonates deeply.
Asylum is sought not only when bombs fall, but when rights erode so completely that dissent becomes untenable. We are not quite there yet — but the trajectory is headed nowhere good. How could it? The British government is currently <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/93424203e35ae34cb4276d0c03f8932f0045fee0?u=11850803">proposing</a> the abolition of jury trials for all but the most heinous crimes.
America&#8217;s free-speech culture survives not because Americans are uniquely virtuous or diplomatic but because their system assumes fallibility — of governments, of majorities, of individual morality. Britain, by contrast, increasingly assumes moral consensus and builds enforcement mechanisms around it.
Sarah Rogers has done the UK a service by saying the quiet part aloud. If Britain wishes to remain a nation of free speakers rather than shy whisperers, it must relearn a lesson America never forgot: the price of liberty is not silence, but tolerance of speech we would rather not hear.
* * *
Bev Turner is a host of &#8220;The Late Show Live&#8221; for Great Britain&#8217;s GBNews, based out of Washington, D.C. Follow her on X <a href="https://l.gourl.es/l/6a872d0bbc65de7ea63572b544b18a7c29887860?u=11850803">@BeverleyTurner</a>
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Anti-migrant Hotel Protest And Counter-Protests Take Place In Newcastle

Saying The Quiet Part Out Loud About Britain’s Free Speech Crisis

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