politics

SCANDALOUS RUMORS ABOUT JD VANCE

Between comments about “childless cat ladies” and blowing up at Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a televised meeting, there are plenty of things JD Vance can be criticized for. However, some of the most scandalous rumors surrounding him haven’t been quite as accurate as the time “Saturday Night Live” likened his rant at Zelenskyy to an audition for “Real Housewives of Potomac.”

We’ll start with one rumor about JD that just doesn’t die — and which may actually have some truth to it. That is, the claim that he wears makeup. Spurred on by a number of appearances in which there was a very distinct line seen around his baby blues, JD’s detractors have had a field day with the rumors. In fact, one photographer even took to X, formerly Twitter, to confirm that after taking snaps of him and zooming in, he had no doubt JD had been wearing makeup.

Of course, it does bear mentioning that JD’s wife, Usha Vance, fired back at the rampant rumors in August 2024, claiming that his lashes were all his own and joking that she was a little envious. Even so, maybe it is Maybelline (we don’t know which brand he uses, if any, but go with it) combined with what he got from his mama. After all, speaking exclusively to Nicki Swift, makeup artist Luna Viola also didn’t rule out the possibility of JD using eyeliner on his lower lid, though she believed his upper lashline was probably all his own. As for JD, he’s never confirmed or denied anything. Figures.

A joke about JD and a sofa got a life of its own

Moving on from an unproven rumor to one we know for a fact has no truth to it, we bring you the sofa situation. Brace yourselves.

On the off-chance you were lucky enough to miss when this rumor first started doing the rounds, we’ll fill you in. In July 2024, an X user used the platform to quip, “Can’t say for sure but he might be the first VP pick to have admitted in a NY times bestseller to [expletive] an inside-out latex glove shoved between two couch cushions (Vance, Hillbilly Elegy, pp. 179-181).” It was pretty clear from the get-go that this particular story had not been shared in “Hillbilly Elegy.” Even so, a number of fact-checking sites confirmed that it was bogus.

Unfortunately for JD, the rumor continued post-fact-checking, and another claim began circulating that the only reason fact-checkers hadn’t picked it up was that they were looking at a different edition of his memoir. This time, screenshots of the book showed “JD” reminiscing about his, ahem, past experiences with the couch on the eve of his wedding to Usha Vance. However, one X user then told Snopes that they’d edited a pirated version of the e-book to get that particular rumor started. Well, that’s not all the user said, but for propriety reasons, we shan’t elaborate. One detail from the response we will share, though, is that the X user told Snopes, “I sent it on the internet to hopefully complete the work of my dark master, Lucifer, the liberator and bringer of forbidden light.” Right, then. Safe to say, everything about this rumor was false.

Some questioned if JD was on Ozempic

With the rise of Ozempic, countless celebrities have been rumored to have taken the medication to lose weight — JD Vance included.

Speculation that JD had started taking the weight loss drug began soon after he was announced as Donald Trump’s running mate. At the time, an X user questioned, “What’s the dosage on his Ozempic?” That prompted a whole lot of chatter — though the thread was far from the only space of Ozempic chatter regarding JD. In fact, JD ended up addressing the rumors head-on in an interview with the Daily Mail. “I haven’t taken any drugs,” he told the outlet, adding that he’d started going for healthier options but that he’d also scaled back in a big way. “I tend to skip breakfast, whereas before I would have, like, you know, three waffles and scrambled eggs and bacon,” he said. Sure enough, when JD was running for senate in 2022, one of his campaign advertisements saw him cooking breakfast for his daughter Mirabel Vance, and the spread included bacon and pancakes.

Luckily for JD, his efforts were appreciated by his boss. According to the Daily Mail, Donald Trump had told insiders he’d noticed how much JD had trimmed down. As an aside, according to Meredith McGraw’s “Trump in Exile,” even before they worked together, the same boss also referred to JD as a “Handsome son of a [expletive]” — so it’s clear Trump has long had an interest in the author-turned-politician’s appearance, Ozempic or not.

Someone claimed JD was married twice before Usha

On to another scandalous rumor regarding JD Vance: Some may remember that soon after he was named as Donald Trump’s running mate, a strange rumor about his marriage to Usha Vance began circulating.

In a post to Instagram’s Threads, one user wrote, “Vance, twice divorced, chastised others for divorcing like changing [underwear].” While it’s true that JD has a very strong anti-divorce stance, that was the only part of the post with any truth to it. As many responded to the post, JD was never married prior to Usha — a fact even JD’s critics pointed out. “JD has only married once to Usha! As much as I loathe him, I loathe misinformation and gossip more!” wrote one. “Let us not make up stories please — win or lose — do it the right way,” implored another. Another commenter happened to be a fact checker for USA Today, asking for more information. However, in addition to the original poster’s not being able to back that up, the fact checker then reached out directly to JD’s team and got a decisive response. “Senator Vance was not married prior to his marriage with Usha,” the spokesperson told USA Today.

JD being a divorcé would make for some piping hot tea, but this scandal was nothing more than a rumor.

One TikToker spread a rumor that Usha was leaving JD

Unfortunately for the Vances, the rumor about JD Vance having been married twice before wasn’t the only one surrounding their marriage. Au contraire, just days ahead of the 2024 election, JD and Usha Vance became the subject of divorce rumors. Not only that, though. Making things even more scandalous, the TikToker behind the rumor — @aubreeeeeeeeey — claimed that Usha was frantically scrambling to have the divorce granted “because she feels that after he achieves vice presidency, she will no longer be able to seek a divorce from her husband.”

Of course, @aubreeeeeeeeey then asked, “See how easy that was?” She went on to point out that spreading fake news was as easy as starting a TikTok with an inflammatory statement and continuing the ruse for around 10 seconds before admitting there was no truth to it. The comments section proved that to be the case, with countless TikTok users joking that they’d initially believed it. Some even shared that they’d been sad to learn that it wasn’t true, writing that they had been happy to hear of the split. Others also shared that they’d unwittingly shared the news without hearing the end.

One particularly funny response, though, harked back to another rumor. “OK, but who gets the couch?” they asked. Hey, the claims may be false, but at least some of them come full circle.

nickiswift.com

politics

Hormuz reopening ‘impossible’ due to ceasefire violations

Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said reopening the Strait of Hormuz — a critical global oil and gas shipping route — is “impossible” amid what Tehran calls “flagrant violations” of the current ceasefire by the United States and Israel.

Ghalibaf, 64, posted on social media that a “complete ceasefire only has meaning if it is not violated through a naval blockade and the hostage-taking of the world economy,” asserting that the US naval blockade of Iranian ports and Israeli “warmongering” undermine truce commitments.

Iran is demanding the lifting of the US naval blockade of Iranian ports, which kicked in on April 13, but is seen by Tehran as a “flagrant violation” of the ceasefire agreement, and the reason cited for its boycott of the 2nd round of talks in Islamabad.

The post is the clearest signal yet from Ghalibaf, who has a reputation as a disciplined operator with technocratic leanings inside Iran’s hardline system.

Ghalibaf joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in 1980 (at age 19), is a trained pilot who also holds a PhD in Political Geography.

On Wednesday, the US military said 31 vessels had “turned back” as part Iran port blockade, mostly oil tankers.

The massive blockade operation, overseen by the Central Command, involves 10,000 troops.

Despite a conditional ceasefire, tensions spiked in Hormuz Strait. Washington demands Iran’s enriched uranium, while Tehran condemns the blockade as an “act of war”.

The IRGC naval forces reportedly seized two commercial ships (the Panama-flagged MSC Francesca and Liberia-flagged Epaminondas) in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, citing “repeated violations”.

Ghalibaf’s remarks come amid ongoing diplomatic efforts — including a ceasefire extension and proposed talks in Pakistan — to end hostilities between Iran and the US.

Trump said the Islamabad talks could restart as early as Friday.

Iran insists that without full compliance by all parties, including lifting maritime restrictions, the strategic waterway will stay closed to international shipping.

Who is Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf?

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, born in 1961, is one of the most influential figures in Iran’s political and security establishment, blending a career shaped by the military, law enforcement and urban governance into his current role as speaker of parliament.

Ghalibaf joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in 1980 at the outset of the Iran-Iraq War.

He rose through the ranks as a field commander and later led the IRGC’s air force from 1997 to 2000.

A trained pilot who also holds a PhD in political geography, Ghalibaf served as Iran’s national police chief before becoming mayor of Tehran from 2005 to 2017.

He oversaw major infrastructure and urban management projects in the capital.

Administration

His tenure strengthened his standing as a capable administrator of translating security credentials into governance.

Elected speaker of the Majlis in 2020, Ghalibaf is widely seen as a key decision-maker who bridges conservative political factions and the military elite.

He has run for president multiple times and is often associated with the legacy of slain IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani.

Ghalibaf’s influence lies in his ability to navigate Iran’s power centres — parliament, the security apparatus and conservative politics — while maintaining a firm, pragmatic stance in national decision-making.

politics

Gulf states eye alternatives to Strait of Hormuz

The disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is exposing a structural constraint in global energy markets: alternatives exist, but were they ever designed to fully replace the corridor?

The strait is not just another transit route. It is the only maritime exit from the Arabian Gulf to open seas. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development estimates that roughly 20%–25% of global seaborne oil and about 20% of liquefied natural gas pass through it each day. That concentration of flows explains why disruptions quickly translate into global price volatility.

The International Energy Agency has described the current outage as the largest oil supply disruption in history. Its Executive Director Fatih Birol said recently that it amounts to the “biggest energy crisis in history,” according to Reuters. Crude prices also surged as markets began pricing in prolonged supply disruption from the Gulf.

The 1,200-km pipeline links the kingdom’s eastern oilfields to the Red Sea port of Yanbu. It can carry up to 7 million barrels per day (bpd), although effective export capacity is closer to 4.5 million bpd due to terminal constraints, according to Reuters.

This route shifts exports away from the Gulf entirely. Tankers from Yanbu can move toward Europe via the Suez Canal or toward Asian markets via the Bab el-Mandeb. That creates a second chokepoint. Security risks in the Red Sea corridor, including tanker attacks linked to regional conflicts, mean the diversion reduces exposure to Hormuz but does not eliminate it.

Bloomberg reported that Saudi Arabia has increased utilisation of the pipeline since the disruption began, highlighting its role as the primary shock absorber in the system.

UAE pipeline offers geographic advantage

The UAE bypasses the chokepoint geographically rather than reroute across the peninsula. The Habshan–Fujairah pipeline, operated by ADNOC, carries crude from inland fields to Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman. With capacity of about 1.5–1.8 million bpd, it allows exports to avoid Hormuz entirely, Reuters reported.

Fujairah has evolved into a major global storage and bunkering hub, reinforcing its role in supply continuity. But capacity remains limited relative to Gulf export volumes, and infrastructure at the port has recently been affected by drone attacks since the conflict escalated, according to Reuters.

The UAE model shows how geography can reduce reliance on chokepoints, but not remove systemic vulnerability.

Iraq: Diversification via multiple smaller routes

Iraq’s export structure reflects a different constraint — limited pipeline redundancy. The Kirkuk–Ceyhan pipeline to Turkey provides a northern outlet to the Mediterranean. Current flows stand at about 170,000 bpd, with plans to increase to 250,000 bpd. Even at full utilisation, that represents a small fraction of Iraq’s export capacity.

Faced with disruptions in Gulf shipping, Iraq has also turned to overland exports via Syria, according to Reuters. That shift increases transport costs and operational complexity, underlining how alternatives often come with economic trade-offs.

Rather than a single large bypass, Iraq relies on multiple smaller routes, none of which materially change its exposure to Hormuz.

Iran: Partial bypass without full functionality

Iran has attempted to build its own workaround through the Goreh–Jask pipeline, designed to carry around 1 million bpd to terminals on the Gulf of Oman.

The IEA said the Jask terminal is not fully complete, and according to Reuters, this limits its ability to offset disruptions despite a test shipment in 2024.

That leaves Iran in a transitional position — with infrastructure in place, but not yet capable of fully offsetting disruptions.

Alternatives constrained by cost, politics, time

Several proposed routes aim to reduce long-term dependence on Hormuz, but none address immediate supply risks.

Iraq has revived plans for a pipeline from Basra to Oman’s port of Duqm, which would provide direct access to the Indian Ocean. Reuters reported that the project remains at an early conceptual stage, with route options still under study.

A separate Iraq–Jordan pipeline to Aqaba has been under discussion for decades. Despite in-principle approval, it remains stalled due to financing, security concerns and political coordination challenges.

More ambitious proposals, including a canal linking the Gulf to the Arabian Sea, remain theoretical. Engineering constraints — including mountainous terrain — and costs running into hundreds of billions of dollars make such projects long-term possibilities at best.

Constraint is structural, not temporary

The core issue is not the absence of alternatives, but their scale. Around 20 million bpd of crude and refined products typically flows through Hormuz, far exceeding the combined capacity of existing bypass pipelines, according to data from the IEA.

The agency has also said there are no alternative routes for large volumes of LNG that transit the strait. This imbalance explains the market reaction. Bloomberg reported that oil price volatility has increased as traders factor in sustained supply tightness and elevated geopolitical risk.

Why Hormuz remains indispensable

The region’s infrastructure allows for partial rerouting. It does not provide redundancy at system level.

Saudi Arabia can divert significant volumes. The UAE can bypass the strait for part of its exports. Iraq and Iran can shift limited flows through secondary routes. None of these options replace the throughput of Hormuz.

That leaves global energy markets exposed to a single chokepoint. As Reuters’ route-by-route assessment and IEA data indicate, any prolonged disruption is likely to tighten supply, increase transport risk and sustain price pressure well beyond the region.

politics

Trump extends Iran ceasefire

Donald Trump has extended the ceasefire with Iran, averting a return to fighting just hours before it was due to expire. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has thanked Trump for extending the truce. Trump said the US will maintain its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian ports until Tehran submits a ‘unified proposal’ and talks are completed. Iran has yet to respond to Trump’s ceasefire extension. Follow our live blog for the latest updates.

10:13 AM, 22 April 2026

Iran hangs man convicted of links to Israel’s Mossad

Iran hanged a man on Wednesday convicted of links to Israel’s Mossad spy agency, the judiciary said, the latest in a string of executions against the backdrop of the war with Israel and the United States.

“Mehdi Farid… was hanged this morning for extensive cooperation with the terrorist spy service Mossad after the case was examined and the final verdict was approved,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said.

It was not immediately clear when he was arrested or when his trial took place, but the court found him guilty of “intelligence cooperation and espionage for the Zionist regime” under the capital offence “corruption on earth”.

09:55 AM, 22 April 2026

Israeli strike on Lebanon’s Bekaa kills one despite truce

An Israeli strike on Lebanon’s Bekaa region killed one person and wounded two others on Wednesday, Lebanese state media reported, despite an ongoing truce between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.

“One person was killed and two others were wounded as a result of an attack carried out by an enemy drone at dawn on the outskirts of Al-Jabur in West Bekaa,” Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported.

Hezbollah on Tuesday said it had launched rockets and attack drones at a site in northern Israel in response to “blatant” Israeli ceasefire violations, which it said included “attacks on civilians and the destruction of their homes and villages”.

The Israeli military said that day that Hezbollah “launched several rockets” towards soldiers stationed in south Lebanon and that the military struck the launcher in response.

NNA on Wednesday reported Israeli artillery shelling and demolitions in southern towns Israel currently occupies.

09:50 AM, 22 April 2026

Iranian gunboat targets container ship off Oman coast

An Iranian gunboat fired at a container ship off the coast of Oman on Wednesday, causing damage but no casualties, the UKMTO British maritime security agency said.

“The master of a container ship reported that the vessel was approached by one IRGC gunboat… that then fired upon the vessel, which has caused heavy damage to the bridge. No fires or environmental impact reported,” the UKMTO said.

It added that the incident took place 15 nautical miles northeast of Oman and all the crew were safe.

09:05 AM, 22 April 2026

US Treasury vows maximum pressure as Iran blockade continues

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in a post on X, said the United States Navy will continue its blockade of Iranian ports. He warned that Kharg Island oil storage is nearing capacity and that Iran’s fragile oil wells may be shut in, directly targeting the regime’s primary revenue sources.

Bessent added that the Treasury will maintain ‘maximum pressure through Economic Fury’ to disrupt Tehran’s ability to generate, move, and repatriate funds. He also cautioned that anyone facilitating covert trade or finance with Iran risks US sanctions.

He said the Treasury is freezing funds stolen by corrupt leadership on behalf of the people of Iran.

08:43 AM, 22 April 2026

Iran undecided on next US talks amid extended ceasefire

Donald Trump has extended the ceasefire with Iran, but Tehran has not yet confirmed whether it will attend a new round of peace talks with the U.S. later this week.

In an interview with the BBC, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Iran approached the first round of Islamabad talks ‘with good faith and a sense of seriousness, but you have a negotiating party that has shown its lack of seriousness, lack of good faith.’

08:31 AM, 22 April 2026

Trump says Iran losing $500m a day, calls situation ‘SOS’

Donald Trump has claimed that Iran is ‘collapsing financially’ in a post on Truth Social, saying the country is ‘starving for cash’ and losing around $500 million a day.

Trump alleged that Iran’s military and police are complaining about unpaid wages and said Tehran wants the Strait of Hormuz reopened ‘immediately’.

He added that the situation amounts to an ‘SOS’, amid ongoing tensions over the US blockade of Iranian maritime routes.