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BREAKING:
The House just passed spending bills 217-214 to end the partial government shutdown. The package funds most of the federal government through September 30 and the Department of Homeland Security through February 13—a 10-day window for Republicans and Democrats to negotiate new accountability measures for ICE agents.
5️⃣ Epstein Reckoning
Bill and Hillary Clinton finalized an agreement today to testify under oath about Jeffrey Epstein this month after House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer set a noon deadline to clarify terms or face contempt proceedings. . Meanwhile, three months after Epstein died, a former Zorro Ranch staff member sent the FBI a chilling tip claiming two foreign girls were buried in the hills outside the compound, strangled during rough fetish sex on orders of Jeffrey and Madam G.
4️⃣ Paris Raids Musk’s X
French police raided Elon Musk’s X offices in Paris this morning as part of a criminal investigation into child sexual abuse images, deepfakes, and Holocaust denial, with the Paris prosecutor’s office summoning Musk and former CEO Linda Yaccarino to appear for questioning on April 20th.
We found the Musk story on Ground News. It showed us 82 sources covering the Paris raid worldwide with completely different headlines. France24 went with straightforward reporting, The Guardian led with Musk’s name, while Russian state media RT framed it as Western censorship against free speech. Ground News rates sources by ownership, bias, and factuality so you can see who’s funding each narrative. That’s why we partner with them—our mission is accountability journalism, theirs is media literacy.
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3️⃣ Trump Seizes The Vote
President Trump told Republicans to take over and nationalize voting in at least 15 states this weekend while repeating debunked 2020 fraud claims, and simultaneously his administration is threatening to cut federal funding to blue states that resist his agenda. Trump explicitly called for Republicans to nationalize elections in 15 states during weekend remarks while threatening to withhold federal funding from states that don’t comply with his policies, prompting Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to call it outlandishly illegal. These aren’t separate stories but rather the same coordinated strategy—defund states that resist, seize election control in states that comply, and call it election integrity. When a president demands his party nationalize elections while holding federal dollars hostage, that’s not policy but rather a coup dressed in budget language, making the authoritarian blueprint explicit.
2️⃣ Killers Named, Cameras Deployed
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced body cameras for all federal immigration officers in Minneapolis effective immediately, but the timing reveals everything—ProPublica had just identified Border Patrol agents Jesus Ochoa and Raymundo Gutierrez as the men who killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, on January 24. Two Americans were killed by federal agents in Minneapolis this month with Renee Good dying January 7 and Alex Pretti dying January 24, yet the government stonewalled for weeks refusing to identify the agents until ProPublica did the work and published their names. Noem announced body cameras immediately after the names went public despite having 30 billion dollars in enforcement funding at her disposal, yet no charges have been filed against either agent. Federal agents kill two Americans, the government stonewalls for weeks, journalists identify the killers, and then body cameras appear—cameras aren’t accountability when they only show up after the bodies pile up.
1️⃣ Iran Attacks US Forces
Iran launched two very aggressive actions against U.S. vessels in six hours today with Revolutionary Guard fast boats attempting to board a U.S.-flagged commercial ship near the Strait of Hormuz this morning, then hours later an Iranian drone approached the USS Lincoln aircraft carrier and was shot down by an F-35. The Iranian boats scattered before a U.S. Navy destroyer arrived to escort the commercial vessel with no shots fired, while U.S. Central Command described the drone’s intent as unclear before destroying it. Nuclear talks scheduled for Friday in Istanbul are now in jeopardy after Iran demanded changes to venue and format, with White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi expected to lead delegations. A U.S. carrier strike group is in the region and Trump bombed three Iranian nuclear sites last summer while threatening more strikes if no deal is reached, as Iran’s Supreme Leader warned Sunday of regional war if attacked and Iranian officials say they’re authorized to use weapons against protesters after killing at least 6,842 people in January’s crackdown alone.
Five stories, one pattern: power without accountability, institutions captured or corrupted, and when the reckoning finally comes, it comes too late.
The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.Thank you Kait Justice, Stephanie G Wilson, PhD, Cat: Poli-Psych, James Rowles, ESBC NFL And SportsBetting, and many others for tuning into my live video with Ellie Leonard! Join me for my next live video in the app.
