Will Trump Maduro Khamenei? “Seismic” Arrest of Former Prince Andrew. By the Waters of the Potomac: Poop Smell. Exclusive: Christianity Not Dead Yet! More

Let’s talk while I get my mighty armada in place—just in case.

“U.S. Gathers the Most Air Power in the Mideast Since the 2003 Iraq Invasion” trumpets the Wall Street Journal.

The New York Times emphasizes that President Trump has not yet made up his mind what to do in Iran, despite the impressive buildup of military might in the region. Has it crossed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s mind that he could be Maduro-ed? Betting odds that the Ayatollah will be removed from power are rising. The price of oil jumped 4 percent after Vice President J.D. Vance said that Iran is ignoring chief U.S. military demands in the current negotiations. Here’s more on the U.S. military assets in the region. President is full of surprises, and we don’t know what is going to happen.

Speaking of surprises, the Thames Valley cops raided the Sandringham and Windsor homes of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and arrested the man formerly known as Prince. The London Spectator’s Alexander Larman calls the arrest “seismic:”

Ever since the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, no member of the Royal Family has been arrested. Which makes this morning’s news that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been taken into police custody under suspicion of misconduct in public office all the more seismic. And with a certain grim irony, his arrest comes on his 66th birthday, of all days.

This development had seemed inevitable for a considerable amount of time now. … Which means that the visit of six unmarked police cars and plain-clothes officers to Wood Farm in Sandringham today is something that only fool – or an optimistic former royal – would have bet against.

King Charles III gives his “full and wholehearted support” into the investigation of his brother.

“Mamdani Takes New York Hostage” is the headline over a Wall Street Journal editorial. The argument of the editorial is that Mayor Mamdani, who is threatening a nearly 10 percent increase on property taxes, will soak the middle class if Albany won’t raise taxes. The editors write:

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is the fresh face of America’s progressive vanguard, so his policy moves are worth watching. His first big move is threatening to raise property taxes unless Democrats in Albany raise taxes on top earners and business. What an ultimatum: Fleece the rich for him, or he’ll fleece them and the middle class.

Mr. Mamdani on Tuesday unveiled his inaugural $127 billion budget, which he amusingly called austere. Only in New York, kids. His budget is $10 billion bigger than Florida’s, though New York City’s population is only 40% of the Sunshine State’s. It’s a $10 billion increase over this year….

Mr. Mamdani’s attempt to extort Ms. Hochul over taxes is part of a broader battle in the Democratic Party. If he prevails, expect more Democrats to imitate his class warfare and hostage-taking.

Meanwhile, there is chaos on a trendy block that does not cater to the hungry masses as New York gets its first free grocery store, located in the West Village, and funded by a betting market and possibly “riffing’ on administration plans. And the Mayor has made a new hire:

News that Mayor Zohran Mamdani has hired Bitta Mostofi, a Biden and de Blasio alumna, to “audit” the NYPD and other city agencies for violations of local sanctuary laws comes amid a larger lefty push to prevent any cooperation with ICE because progressives want “Minneapolis everywhere.”

More on Mamdani’s utopian budget.

You’ve probably been hearing about Stephen Colbert’s claim that CBS (his employer for the nonce) and the Trump administration conspired to “cancel” his interview with Texas Senate candidate James Talarico. Don’t fall for this stunt.  A Washington Post editorial (wow! The Post’s opinion pages are really improving!) ascribes the dustup to over-regulation (specifically, the equal time doctrine. National Review says, rather bluntly, that Colbert and Talarico are “lying” about the situation.

No word on why the Trump administration would think such an interview would matter that much. But you know who thinks this “manufactured controversy” matters? Jasmine Crockett, Talarico’s primary opponent, that’s who. Read Sasha Stone’s “The Democrats Throw Jasmine Crockett Under the Bus.” You can imagine why they do this the foul-mouthed preppie, who might not be the ideal image for the party. Fox’s Brit Hume tells what must happen for a Democrat to have a good shot at the general election for this seat. Click to see if it involves throwing anyone under the bus.

California Governor Gavin Newsom is being touted as the frontrunner for the 2028 Democratic nomination. Karl Rove asks in his WSJ politic column whether Newsom can live down his record in California. He isn’t the only blue state guv in this predicament:

Mr. Newsom has great hair and Mr. Pritzker a vast fortune. But neither will matter nearly as much as their records as governor. Neither man can credibly claim that he has a solid record of economic achievement. That may not matter much to Democratic primary voters. It will in November 2028.

Meanwhile, does Virginia aspire to be more like California? You know, shedding businesses. A top defense contractor is leaving Virginia only weeks after new Governor Abigail Spanberger took the oath of office.

James Freeman wittily asked a few days ago whether the District of Columbia is a “a swamp or a sewer.” The reference was to the dreadful dumping of millions of gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac River. Mayor Bowser wants federal help:

The sewage spill has now become the largest in U.S. history, dumping over 240 million gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac River. President Donald Trump has already lashed out at Maryland Gov. Wes Moore for his handling of the spill, saying he is concerned the river winding around the nation’s capital will still stink when America250 celebrations kick off this summer.

Mayor Bowser may deserve a solid for not turning D.C. into Chicago when President Trump sent in the National Guard to combat crime, and the President has said local leaders must ask for federal help. We need to answer questions about who’s really responsible for the disaster. The respected blog Legal Insurrection has a candidate:

We also took a look at DC Water’s 9,900% error in reporting E. coli levels after the spill, which reported 242,000 MPN/100 mL as 2,420 and may have ultimately been the result of the agency’s emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, rather than concentration on mission priorities (e.g., technical competence and accurate, safety‑critical testing procedures and interpretation).

Does Virginia aspire to be more like California? You know, shedding businesses. A top defense contractor is leaving Virginia only weeks after new Governor Abigail Spanberger took the oath of office.

On the heels of Ask Wednesday, which was yesterday, the Wall Street Journal’s Barton Swaim has what many of us will see as glad tidings—Christianity is not dead. Evidence is Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s recent Munich speech:

I have to think Mr. Rubio or one of his speechwriters has read G.K. Chesterton’s “The Everlasting Man.” In a chapter titled “The War of the Gods and Demons,” Chesterton mocks the idea that soldiers in a war fight for “abstract” economic or geopolitical advantages. He is thinking of H.G. Wells’s “materialist” view of history. Soldiers fight, Chesterton says, because their cause is bound up with their affections for their family and fealty to their God. No soldier, writes Chesterton, says to himself in battle: “My leg is nearly dropping off, but I shall go on till it drops; for after all I shall enjoy all the advantages of my government obtaining a warm-water port in the Gulf of Finland.”

Just so, Mr. Rubio: “The fundamental question we must answer at the outset is what exactly are we defending, because armies do not fight for abstractions. Armies fight for a people; armies fight for a nation. Armies fight for a way of life.”