A private Japanese lander has made it to the moon.

The Hakuto-R spacecraft entered lunar orbit late Monday night (March 20), notching a huge milestone for the Japanese company ispace, which has big plans in Earth-moon space.

"The successful insertion of the lander into lunar orbit is an important step toward the establishment of a payload transportation service, as it demonstrates that ispace is capable of transporting customer payloads to orbit around the moon," representatives of Tokyo-based ispace wrote in an update(opens in new tab) on Tuesday (March 21).

"Future ispace missions will involve deployment of satellites into lunar orbit," they added.

They finally caught Trump!

I am, of course, joking—the most entrenched portions of the illiberal left are having a nationwide party in anticipation of a potential Trump arrest, but is there really anything for them to be excited about?

Soros-funded DA Alvin Bragg is trying to use a convicted liar as the foundation on which to bring bogus misdemeanor charges, long past their statute of limitations, against President Trump. …

I don’t think I have ever heard of such a weakly composed case in my entire life—Alvin Bragg should lose his right to practice law in any capacity for bringing such a frivolous case before the court and before the American people.

President Trump has issued a new response to the thinly-veiled witch hunt being carried out by DA Bragg and his handlers in the Democratic Party:

A witness who testified before a grand jury on Monday in regard to an investigation into Donald Trump by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has spoken publicly about another supposedly key witness in the case, former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.

Robert Costello, who is a former legal advisor to Cohen, referred to him as a “convicted perjurer” and suggested that his testimony to the grand jury may be less than reliable regarding Trump.

News broke on Friday that Bragg was close to indicting Trump over hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 campaign, allegedly to keep her quiet about an affair the two of them had in 2006. The grand jury has been hearing evidence and testimony regarding the case, as well as his business practices.

The London Metal Exchange revealed a surprising mix-up last week at a warehouse in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam.

An operator for the warehouse weighed bags that were thought to contain 54 metric tons of nickel, only to find that they were filled with stones, according to The Wall Street Journal.

It appears that JPMorgan Chase is the unlucky owner of those bags, the Journal said on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Had they contained nickel, the bags would have been worth $1.3 million at current prices, representing 0.14% of nickel inventories, Bloomberg reported. While that means the mix-up will have a relatively minor impact on metal markets, it does call the security of the LME's contracts into question. "In an industry riddled with scandals, the LME's contracts are viewed as unquestionably safe," Bloomberg said.

The White House press briefing room erupted on Monday after a reporter from an Africa-focused outlet accused press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre of making a “mockery of the First Amendment.”

The controversial rescue deal for troubled lender Credit Suisse and the continuing fallout from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank indicates the world is sliding into a crisis “far worse” than the GFC, one analyst has argued.

Following crunch talks aimed at stopping the stricken bank from triggering a wider international meltdown, Swiss bank UBS on Sunday agreed to take over its rival Credit Suisse for $US3.25 billion ($4.8 billion) – less than half its Friday closing valuation.

The deal, in which Switzerland’s biggest bank will take over the second-largest in the country, was vital to prevent irreparable economic turmoil spreading throughout the country and beyond, according to the Swiss government.

“This is as bad as it gets,” ACY Securities chief economist Clifford Bennett said in a note on Monday.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said Monday that authorities seized fentanyl mixed with a pharmaceutical drug used to sedate animals in 48 states, warning the American public of a widespread threat.

If Hillary Clinton had her way, restrictions placed on drag performances would become a thing of the past.

Last we heard from former Blackrock portfolio manager Ed Dowd and his deep-dive partners at Phinance Technologies, the rate of Serious Adverse Events reported during Covid-19 vaccine trials closely tracked a spike in disabilities reported following the vaccine's official rollout.

In their latest analysis, Dowd and crew use data from the Bureau of Labor Statistcs (BLS) to reveal a shocking spike in both employee absence and lost worktime rates, which they believe is due to vaccines - either from primary vaccine injuries, or because of weakened immune systems due to the jab, and not long covid caused by the virus itself.

Earlier in the day, UK Minister of State for Defense Annabel Goldie said that the country will provide Ukraine with depleted uranium tank ammunition, including armor piercing shells for Challenger 2 battle tanks.

It seems that the West decided to wage war on Russia until the last Ukrainian for real, Russian President Vladimir Putin told journalists following after the meeting of Russian and Chinese top level government delegations.

“Today it became known that the United Kingdom, through its deputy head of the ministry of defense, announced not only the supply of tanks to Ukraine, but also shells with depleted uranium," Putin said, adding that "it seems that the West really decided to fight Russia to the last Ukrainian, not in words, but in deed."

"I would like to note in this regard that if all this happens, then Russia will be forced to react accordingly - I mean that the Collective West is already starting to use weapons with a nuclear component," Putin added.

Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) revealed a proposal on Monday meant to combat the possible implementation of a central bank digital currency by the Federal Reserve and the Biden administration.

Ukraine's defense ministry on Tuesday has touted the Monday night destruction of Russian cruise missiles which were stationed in Crimea. Videos posted on social media showed a series of explosions in the northern part of Crimea, centered on the town of Dzhankoy, a key logistics hub through which a railway line runs.

The Ukrainian military is saying that a shipment of Russian Kalibr cruise missiles was successfully destroyed in what appears to have been a drone attack. While not directly owning up to the operation, Kiev is hailing the 'mystery' attack deep inside Russian-held territory.

"The mysterious series of blasts continues the process of Russia’s demilitarization and prepares the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea for de-occupation," a statement Ukrainian Military Intelligence said.

President Joe Biden announced this week that he will be declassifying intelligence related to the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, just days after Congress unanimously passed legislation forcing the issue.

To be sure, the serial-lying prowess of embattled Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas rivals that of Joe Biden and shameless California Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff. But lo and behold, Mayorkas has finally admitted a southern border fact that has been blatant from the first days of the Biden administration.

The question is, to paraphrase two-time presidential race loser Hillary, what difference will it make?

As the Biden Border Crisis™ continues, with zero signs of slowing down, let alone stopping, Mayorkas recently told a “pro-migration” lawyer that, in effect, gaps do exist in Biden’s new border rules, but the DHS head, in Bidenesque fashion, blamed the U.S. Congress for those gaps. Funny, one would’ve thought Mayorkas would’ve blamed Mad Vlad Putin or Donald Trump. [sarc]

One of the four nucleobases of RNA has been discovered in samples retrieved from the asteroid Ryugu, providing the strongest evidence yet that the organic building blocks for life on Earth came from space.

In December 2020, Hayabusa2, a mission of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), delivered by capsule and parachute 0.19 ounces (5.4 grams) of asteroid material from Ryugu to expectantly waiting scientists on Earth. 

Analysis of these samples have shown them to be the most primitive material ever studied in a laboratory, dating back to before the planets formed 4.5 billion years ago. The isotopic composition of gases contained in those materials revealed that Ryugu formed much farther out from the sun, close to the orbit of Neptune, compared to its present location near Earth.

Webmaster addition: Rather than prove that these molecules came from space, I would counter that it proves these molecules spontaneously form everywhere!

US President Joe Biden's window of opportunities in Ukraine is in danger of narrowing, warn some Western observers, while others hint that an apparent rift between Washington and Kiev is widening.

There are three factors that may potentially constrain the Biden administration's ability for maneuver in the Russo-Ukrainian conflict, according to the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a US DC-based think tank.

First, the situation on the battlefield is unfolding in Russia's favor, with Russian forces making progress towards encircling Bakhmut, also known as Artemovsk, a city in the Donetsk region. According to the think tank, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s all-out defense of the city could cripple Kiev's ability to mount an effective counteroffensive elsewhere.

Furthermore, the Kiev regime is suffering from a shortage of ammunition and experienced troops, something the West cannot provide anytime soon. The West's stockpiles of artillery shells and missiles are dwindling, while NATO cannot throw its troops to reinforce the Ukrainian military, as that could escalate the conflict into a full-fledged nuclear confrontation, according to the think tank.

Joe Biden drew sharp criticism for claiming he wants to free Americans “unjustly detained” around the world while hundreds of Jan. 6 demonstrators are still locked up in DC jails.

Biden’s comment is even more farcical given that thousands of hours of Jan. 6 surveillance footage was released a few weeks ago which completely debunked the uniparty’s narrative regarding the events that day.

Politicians were furious at Tucker Carlson for releasing the footage, which really highlighted how they were exaggerating – and even straight-up lying – about Jan. 6 to further their own political agendas.

Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in the Kremlin for official talks on Tuesday.

The two leaders met behind closed doors first, with a number of top officials, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev and Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, taking part in the negotiations on the Russian side. The meeting was followed by another round of talks with expanded delegations, involving more government ministers and the heads of Russian state corporations.

The negotiations come as a part of the Chinese leader’s three-day visit to Russia, which began on Monday. Earlier in the day, he held bilateral talks with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. During that meeting, Xi revealed he had invited Putin to visit later this year. The Chinese president also invited Mishustin to visit China.

On Monday, Xi and Putin held almost five hours of informal talks behind closed doors. President Xi’s visit is his first to Russia since the outbreak of the Moscow-Kiev conflict, and also his first foreign trip since securing an unprecedented third term as China’s head of state.

The US Department of Defense announced on Monday that it will send Ukraine another $350 million worth of military aid. The further supplies come as Ukraine reportedly gears up for a spring offensive, despite suffering heavy losses in Donbass.

The package is the 34th tranche of military aid doled out to Ukraine by the US since August 2021. It includes ammunition for Kiev’s US-provided HIMARS rocket artillery systems, 155mm artillery rounds, high-speed anti-radiation missiles (HARMs), riverine patrol boats, and other anti-tank and mortar systems.

Amid reports of dwindling stockpiles at home, the Pentagon no longer discloses how much of each ammunition type its arms packages include. These figures have been omitted from every such statement since the beginning of January, but a comparison of the supplemental fact sheets released with each package suggests that the US has sent Ukraine at least 500,000 155mm shells since the beginning of March.

Way back in 1998, internet media pioneer Matt Drudge told a room full of reporters, “You would be amazed what the ordinary guy knows.”

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced the addition of banking giant HSBC to his list of firms deemed to be "boycotting" energy companies and therefore subject to divestment of state funds.

Hegar said the bank's updated policy restricting financing of oil and natural gas was cause for its addition to the list, which brings Texas's blacklist to a total of 11 global financial firms, including investment giant BlackRock.

Fox News war correspondent Benjamin Hall detailed the events leading up to his brush with death in Ukraine while covering the early days of Russia’s invasion of the country.

The U.S. announced Monday that it will send Ukraine an additional $350 million in ammunition, weapons, and military vehicles as Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin for peace talks in Moscow this week.

Our government is preparing to monitor every word Americans say on the internet—the speech of journalists, politicians, religious organizations, advocacy groups, and even private citizens. Should those conversations conflict with the government’s viewpoint about what is in the best interests of our country and her citizens, that speech will be silenced.

While the “Twitter Files” offer a glimpse into the government’s efforts to censor disfavored viewpoints, what we have seen is nothing compared to what is planned, as the details of hundreds of federal awards lay bare. Research by The Federalist reveals our tax dollars are funding the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning (ML) technology that will allow the government to easily discover “problematic” speech and track Americans reading or partaking in such conversations.

Then, in partnership with Big Tech, Big Business, and media outlets, the government will ensure the speech is censored, under the guise of combatting “misinformation” and “disinformation.”

Dollar Tree recently pulled eggs from stores as prices for the staple grocery remain elevated.

Before Covid, four types of pneumonia added together were the highest cause of death in the UK.  In a newly implemented Medical Examiner System to certify deaths, the Medical Examiner was certifying all types of pneumonia deaths as covid-19 deaths, a former Director of End-of-Life Care has said.

On Saturday, Sai, a former NHS Director of End-of-Life Care, wrote a Twitter thread which, amongst other things, gave a personal account of the changes to the system of reporting deaths implemented in the NHS:

“When four different diseases [are] grouped and now being called covid-19, you will inevitably see covid-19 with a huge death rate.  The mainstream media was reporting on this huge increase in covid-19 deaths due to the Medical Examiner System being in place.

“Patients being admitted and dying with very common conditions such as old age, myocardial infarctions, end-stage kidney failure, haemorrhages, strokes, COPD and cancer etc. were all now being certified as covid-19 via the Medical Examiner System.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) rebuked President Joe Biden for his veto of a resolution that would have prevented fiduciaries from investing retirement funds in accordance with the environmental, social, and corporate governance movement, also known as ESG.

United Kingdom Deputy Minister of Defense Annabelle Goldie publicly stated today that the UK will supply Ukraine with Depleted Uranium (DU) Ammunition for some of the weapons systems supplied by NATO.  Russia has previously warned the use of Depleted Uranium will be considered an attack by a "Dirty Nuke" and will result in a nuclear response. 

Annabel MacNicoll Goldie, Baroness Goldie DL (born 27 February 1950) is a Scottish politician and life peer who served as Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party from 2005 to 2011 and has served as Minister of State for Defence since 2019. She was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP), as one of the additional members for the West Scotland region, from 1999 to 2016.

The use of DU in munitions is controversial because of long-term health effects. Normal functioning of the kidney, brain, liver, heart, and numerous other systems can be affected by exposure to uranium, a toxic metal. It is only weakly radioactive because of the long radioactive half-life of Uranium (4.468 × 109 or 4,468,000,000 years) and the low amounts of 234 U  (half-life about 246,000 years) and 235 U  (half-life 700 million years).