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This feature will post every day at 6:30am Mountain time.
Monday, April 6, 2026
President Trump Fills in Remarkable Background Details – Deal Tomorrow or U.S. Begins Systematic Destruction of Iranian Infrastructure
Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst shares details from a conversation he had with President Donald Trump surrounding negotiations to end armed conflict.
According to Yingst, President Trump is optimistic for a diplomatic settlement and a negotiated deal as early as tomorrow. However, if the deal is not made, the infrastructure within Iran will be systematically destroyed – as noted in a recent Truth Social Post:
Trey Yingst explains the full details via Fox News.
Data shows more Americans aren’t heading to Canada - Its reversed
U.S. citizens are leaving, but data compiled by the Association for Canadian Studies indicates fewer of them are emigrating north
When Donald Trump was first elected U.S. president in 2016,
there was a healthy dose of hyperbolic headlines about Americans fleeing to
Canada in response, headlines that quickly re-surfaced after his re-election in
2024.
And while it’s true asylum claims from U.S. citizens have spiked in the
first full year of both his terms and the ascension of Bill C-3 has opened the
citizenship door to untold thousands of Americans with Canadian ancestral
roots, new data from the Association for Canadian Studies shows fewer U.S. citizens
are emigrating north in recent years.
“There is an important gap between the purported high
consideration of such an exit and its actual reality,” wrote ASC president Jack
Jedwab.
In the first three quarters of 2025 (Jan.-Sept.), Canada
admitted 20 per cent fewer Americans as permanent residents than the same time
in 2024 and the lowest amount since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
That’s in line with a similar decrease in overall
admissions, but figures indicate a precipitous decline early in 2026, with only
295 received that January compared to 805 in 2025. If that pace holds through
the rest of the year, Canada will have received just over 3,500 applications,
well shy of the nearly 9,100 fielded in 2025.
Jedwab also found that the number of temporary foreign
workers (TFWs) from south of the border was down 10 per cent in the first nine
months of 2025 versus the same time in 2024. As Canada tries to get its program
under control, the overall number of workers fell by about 20 per cent
year-over-year over that stretch, but the number of Americans using it has
remained largely unchanged since 2022.
It’s not that Americans aren’t leaving the U.S., however.
Jedwab cited a Wall Street Journal report that found the nation
experienced a period of negative net migration in 2025 — when more Americans
left than arrived — for the first time since 1935, near the height of the Great
Depression.
Jedwab said the Trump administration maintained it was a
byproduct of increased deportations and tighter visa restrictions, “but the
reality is America’s own citizens are leaving in record numbers, replanting
themselves and their families in lands they find more affordable.”
Almost 80 per cent of more than 2,000 counties that
experienced population growth in 2023 and 2024 watched as it slowed or reversed
last year.
Both shifts, he said, were largely influenced by lower
overall net international migration — the net total of migrants during a
period, calculated as the number of immigrants minus the number of emigrants
(people who leave).
The Journal reported that countries like Portugal, Ireland,
Thailand and Bali are becoming popular destinations due to the lower costs of
living and perceived better quality of life.
Meanwhile, Jedwab said Canada is experiencing its own
“exodus” of both citizens and permanent residents emigrating around the world,
not just to the U.S., though it remains the top destination.
Citing Statistics Canada data, he noted roughly 120,000 left
Canada in 2025, three per cent more than in 2024 and the fourth straight year
the figure has climbed. More than half (53.9 per cent) were prime-aged workers
between 25 and 49, “often mid-career professionals in peak-earning years,” many
of whom are highly-skilled immigrants like doctors, engineers and scientists
who are leaving at twice the rate of their lower-skilled peers.
Seniors (55 and older) account for almost one in seven
permanent departures, “with 16,609 leaving in 2025 — an 80.5 per cent increase
compared to a decade ago.”
Economic motivation
As part of the data study, Jedwab sought to compare the
socio-economic profiles of Canadian nationals living in the U.S. and Canadian
citizens born in the U.S.
Using Canada’s 2021 national census to understand the latter
and the 2021 American Community Survey for insight into the former, Jedwab
found that “rather than politics or ideology, economic motivation is the main
driver in moves across the border by Americans and Canadians respectively.”
“Even with controls in place, the data point to vast
differences in education and income,” he noted.
For instance, U.S. citizens originally from Canada are more
likely to earn incomes over CAD$100,000 and those workers aged 25-54 were far
more likely to earn over that amount than their American-born population
counterparts in Canada. In 2021, almost 36 per cent of the former were earning
more than that, more than double the U.S. national average (16.2 per cent).
In terms of education, both cohorts have more university
degrees or higher than the overall population, but Americans hailing from
Canada are slightly more educated.
The Canadian-born Americans are also more likely to be
homeowners.
Jedwab also used the most recent American Community Survey
from 2024 to get a better understanding of current Canadian-born Americans,
finding that more than one in three are 65 and older (34.4 per cent), they are
predominantly Anglophones and, despite almost half being well-educated (48.1
per cent), many of those who arrived between 2019 and 2024 earned less than
$80,000 annually (64 per cent).
Over that same time, Florida (21.2 per cent) eclipsed California (13 per cent) as the top choice for Canadians relocating to the U.S.
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/data-shows-more-americans-arent-heading-to-canada-its-the-other-way-around
How the Amazing Rescue of Two American Airmen Unfolded
Overnight, the U.S. military pulled off one of the most difficult missions in the playbook: the rescue of a downed aircrew deep inside enemy territory.
Easter morning, an F-15E weapons systems officer was extracted from atop a 7,000-foot ridge in southwestern Iran, having been on the run since Friday (this sounds sort of Biblical, doesn't it).
This is how the operation played out. Mind you, it is all based on reports patched together from various sources. U.S. Central Command has yet to issue a statement on either the loss of the aircraft or the successful rescue of the flight crew. President Trump was not quite that constrained; see 'WE GOT HIM!' President Trump Responds As Second Airman Is Rescued From Enemy Territory in Iran.
SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
Friday morning, April 3. An F-15E Strike Eagle was apparently hit by Iranian fire near the village of Talkhuncheh, Isfahan Province, Iran. There is a lot of boasting from the Iranians about an advanced passive infrared detection system used to guide a missile. There are online accounts linking the downing to Russian ships arriving at Iranian ports. We don't know the cause, but based on the history of the Operation Epic Fury air campaign, the plane going down from a bird strike is just as likely as an Iranian anti-aircraft missile. Both pilot and weapons systems officer (WSO) eject.
When the pilots punched out, they would have transmitted a MAYDAY on Guard frequency. This would have alerted the Combat Search and Rescue element that was on standby. The WSO, who is reported to be a lieutenant colonel, is reportedly injured during ejection. This is not unusual. Within a short period of time, an image of one of the ejection seats appears on social media.
The pilots have some emergency supplies, including a radio and a personal defense weapon that is stored under the seat.
Within a short period of time, a CSAR element composed of an MC-130J refueling aircraft and two HH-60 "Jolly Green" 2 helicopters was spotted near the scene. I know, you're asking why they are called "Jolly Green" 2 helicopters. The original "Jolly Green Giant" was the HH-53B designed for CSAR work during the Vietnam War. The name stuck.
The HH-60s are armed with 7.62mm Gatling-style miniguns and carry USAF pararescue jumpers, PJs, with them.
At this point, the story becomes more than a little unclear. There was obviously a time lag between the pilot and WSO un-assing the aircraft, and they became separated. The CSAR flight locates the pilot fairly expeditiously and extracts him under fire. According to reports, both HH-60s are hit by ground fire, and some members of the crew are injured. Taking the voiceover in the video seriously could result in brain damage to your future children or grandchildren.
During the Vietnam Era, any CSAR mission had at least one A-1 Skyraider (they were called "Spads," no one called the Skyraiders) flying top cover to keep enemy ground forces from approaching. Now, the A-10 Thunderbolt II (Warthogs, no one has ever called the A-10 by its official name) aircraft provides the muscle. One of them was his by groundfire and allegedly ditched over the ocean. The Iranians say four of their men were killed, which is a transparent lie, as no Warthog has ever killed just four of anything.
By this time, the WSO has decided to get out of the area and has started hiking toward the ridge visible in the background of the video. All pilots go through SERE training (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape), so he had at least some academic knowledge of what he needed to do. He probably used his rescue beacon periodically to let CENTCOM know he was alive, but not long enough to let the Iranians direction find him.
When the CSAR package cleared the area and reported they only recovered one of the aircrew, sphincters slammed shut all through CENTCOM like the crack of doom. A full-blown political crisis was brewing. What's worse is that our European, cough, cough, allies joined the Democrats in gleefully rubbing their hands together in anticipation of the missing WSO being killed or captured. Bets were placed on the outcome; see Shameful: Polymarket Deletes Wager on Whether Downed F-15E Pilots Would Live or Die – RedState.) Fortunately, CENTCOM had the right guys available at the right time. A hasty task force of the Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment and the Navy's DEVGRU, also known as SEAL Team Six, was created.
While the rescue operation is spinning up seemingly in Kuwait, our intrepid WSO hikes about 5 miles, gains about 7,000 feet of altitude, and goes to ground in a hide position, allegedly a rock crevice. All the while, he is overwatched by MQ-9 Reaper drones, which keep any Iranian pursuers at bay. Allegedly, two of these unmanned guardian angels were shot down, but the only source for that is the Iranian government. The Iranian government rushes IRGC goons and Basij goblins to the area and places a $60,000 reward, which in present-day Iran is about half the national budget, on the WSO's head.
There were reports of Iranian civilians blocking roads to obstruct IRGC and Basij personnel heading to search for the hiding WSO. While I'd like to believe it, I find it unlikely given the current state of affairs.
Now the improbable happens.
I don't believe for one second that the CIA had any role in this because a) I'm not sure the CIA could find its butt with both hands, and b) I don't see how a deception plan could have been ginned up, employed, and get effects in the few hours available to it. We've also virtually subcontracted covert activities in Iran to Israel, so I find it hard to believe this is anything but a bureaucratic scramble for credit.
Video from the area released by Iranian sources doesn't seem to indicate that anyone was fooled about the general location of the missing man.
This may be true, and when President Trump or Secretary of War Pete Hegseth congratulates the CIA, I might begrudgingly apologize. But not today.
Then we come to the climax. Two C-130s land on a dirt strip, probably a road, some distance from the WSO's location, and establish a forward operating base inside Iran.
The aircraft carried members of 160th SOAR and DEVGRU, along with a couple of MH-6 Little Bird helicopters. Because the C-130s could carry 128 troops in the jump seat configuration, I would speculate that Army Rangers were aboard to defend the forward operating base and act as a reaction force if things went pear-shaped.
The mission goes like clockwork at first. The MH-6s locate the WSO and extract him. They return to the forward operating base. Then our friend Mr. Murphy intervenes. While the temporary landing strip had been sufficient for landing, the C-130's landing gear became mired in the soft soil. Three Dash-8 aircraft, which no one has definitively identified as Army or Air Force, landed and picked up the CSAR team.
From the quickness with which the Dash-8s arrived, it is safe to say they were sitting on an airfield, fueled and idling just in case of this contingency. That also calls into question whether the two C-130s that got stuck were due to faulty soil analysis or just the cost of doing business.
They left behind the C-130 and MH-6, which were either blown up by the departing team or were bombed by overwatching aircraft.
The Iranians did recover war trophies.
The most priceless trophy is a pair of American Eagle boxers (get your three-pack for $23.50). This was undoubtedly meant to be left behind because no one on this mission packed extra undies. Some free advice, habibi, if the SEALs left this underwear for you, you probably should wear a hazmat suit and get all your shots updated before handling it.
The Iranians will probably ignore the scorch marks and convert them into commemorative headgear.
According to the Iranians, having Americans come into your crib, set up shop, rescue downed aircrew, kill your thugs, and blow up your stuff is a victory. So happy "We Beat the Great Satan" day to all of you.
Former CENTCOM Commander Frank McKenzie Discusses U.S. Rescue Operation in Iran
Former Commander of CENTCOM, General Frank McKenzie, appears on CBS to give his analysis of ongoing Operation Epic Fury, along with the successful rescue of the F-15 crew. WATCH:
[Transcript] – ED O’KEEFE: We’re joined now by the former head of U.S. Central Command, retired General Frank McKenzie. General, Happy Easter.
GEN. FRANK MCKENZIE: And the same to you, Ed.
ED O’KEEFE: So it took just under 48 hours to find the missing weapons systems officer. After the jet they were in went down in a remote and mountainous area of southwestern Iran, the weapons officer was hiding in a mountainous crevice. We’re told by a senior administration official, what’s your assessment of how the search and rescue operation went?
GEN. MCKENZIE: So I think I’d draw two lessons from it, Ed. First of all, the excellence of the joint force, our ability to rapidly pivot, to look for a downed air crewman. We train for this endlessly. It’s a part of every time we send air crew over enemy territory, we have detailed, elaborate plans to go get them. It’s a very basic part of who we are as American fighting men and women. So that plan swung into action. I think it was executed pretty effectively. As always, you’ve got somebody on the ground, may be injured. They got to get to a position where they can hide until you can get to them. All that seemed to work out very well. And you know, we did, in fact, lose a couple of aircraft in that in that mission. But I would just tell you, it takes a year to build an aircraft. It takes 200 years to build a military tradition where you don’t leave anybody behind. You take the aircraft trade any day in a situation like this. The other lesson, I think, is a hard lesson for Iran. First of all, they were not able to find the missing air crewman. Second, you know, they put out a broad appeal to their people to turn him in reward, asking for all kinds of leads, that does not appear to have been successful. And that would- I think that’s maybe a sign of disaffection, don’t know, but you can’t, you can’t be happy with that if you’re a senior leader in Tehran this morning.
ED O’KEEFE: Yeah, you know Iran’s Revolutionary Guards now claiming responsibility for attacks on petrochemical plants in the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain. They warn its attacks against U.S. economic interests will intensify if attacks on civilian targets in Iran are repeated, does Iran and its proxies retain the capacity to inflict serious damage at this point?
GEN. MCKENZIE: They have the ability to inflict damage. They do not have the ability to gain mass effects. And by mass effects, I mean firing many, many dozens of rockets, missiles or drones. I think that capability has been eroded steadily since this campaign began. And frankly, at about plus 30 days into this campaign, I think if you’re at Central Command, you’ve got to be reasonably satisfied with where you are right now. In fact, Ed, when I was the CENTCOM Commander, if you had given me this situation at plus 30 days, I would have rejected it as being too optimistic by far. So we’ve had good effect. Our effects are going to continue. It’s going to be increasingly harder for them to launch missiles and rockets. We may not get to zero for a while, and I think there’s still some time ahead, but everyone realizes that. But I think we’re on track here. This campaign is moving very effectively, and I believe the pace will pick up every day.
ED O’KEEFE: To your earlier point, the president said something interesting to Fox News this morning, revealing for the first time that the U.S., earlier this year had sent a quote, lot of guns to the Kurds, who live in northern Iraq, northern Iran for use by protesters. So he wanted them to use these weapons. And said, you know, inferring now that he was sending weapons to have the Iranian people rise up on Wednesday night, though, in his big speech, clarifying what the war is all about, he said, This campaign is not about regime change, but if they are now, in fact, arming protesters. What might that signal?
GEN. MCKENZIE: Well, I think you want to put pressure on this regime in every way that you can. Arming Kurds certainly increases pressure on the Iranian regime. We know from history that leadership in Iran responds when existential pressure is applied to the regime. Arming the Kurds moves you a step closer toward that even if your ultimate aim is not regime change, getting the regime and Tehran to a place where they’ll make a deal that’s to our liking, is going to be the inevitable by product of intolerable pressure that’s placed over- on them. And I think all of these add together to do that.
ED O’KEEFE: You said last week, a success for the White House is that the Strait of Hormuz reopens, but that vital passageway, of course, remains effectively choked off. The president this Easter morning, used some, shall we say, colorful language, to threaten Iran again to reopen the strait, if the U.S. launches its own military operation in the coming days to open the strait, what’s it going to take militarily to do that?
GEN. MCKENZIE: Well, let me, let me say, first of all, we do have the ability to open the strait. Should we choose to do it in what you’re seeing now are the- what I would call the precursor of the initial steps in such a campaign you want to reduce Iran’s ability to fire short range rockets and missiles into the strait against warships. You want to take out their fast attack craft. Think of them as cigarette boats, large, powerful outboard engined boats that can race out and get among ships and cause direct damage that way. What we’re doing is we’re going after all those vessels. And that’s where a 10s attack aircraft, attack helicopters and other slow moving, low altitude platforms are so very effective. So we’re in the process of removing those right now. At the same time, we’re working to get rid of Iran’s mine stockpile. The mines are very dangerous. They had thousands when the war began. I have no doubt we significantly (UNINTELLIGIBLE) them, now. Of course, it doesn’t take many mines to cause a significant blockage to world shipping. So all of that is underway right now, and you want to reduce those to a low level before you put your warships up there to actually sort of test the waters in that strait. I have no idea what Admiral Cooper’s decision making process is going to be for that, but I think we’re well on the way to achieving those goals.
ED O’KEEFE: Can the strait be reopened with an air and naval campaign or are you going to need ground troops?
GEN. MCKENZIE: I think it could be opened with an air and naval campaign, and the use of ground troops would probably be along the line of raids. And remember, a raid is an attack with a planned withdrawal, where you don’t plan to stay. The one exception might be Kharg Island. I know the president has talked about it. I think it has a unique place in Iranian culture, because of one thing, if you seize it, you’re holding Iranian soil. Secondly, it is the critical mode through which all their oil supplies pass. By seizing it, you have the opportunity to cut that off, inflicting grievous damage on the Iranian economy, and yet with the opportunity, perhaps, to return it as part of a negotiation process. Further, you don’t permanently damage the global economy by destroying the infrastructure. So I think Kharg Island is a very lucrative target. I’m sure we’re looking at it hard right now. I have no idea if we’re going to choose to go up there.
ED O’KEEFE: In our last 30 seconds or so, here, General, bottom line this. The president says two to three weeks is all that it’s going to take? Would you agree with that? Or is it going to take longer?
GEN. MCKENZIE: You know, I always hesitate to put time on a- to put a timeline on a military operation like this, but I would say the Iranians would be very well served to listen to President Trump when he says he’s going to hit him because he’s pro- he’s proven that he’s willing to do that. So that’s the lesson I would learn from from his most recent pronouncement, and from actually what we’ve done in the war to this day, if the president says we’re going to do something, we’re probably going to do it. And it probably is good time for the Iranian leadership to take note of that fact.
ED O’KEEFE: All right, we’ll leave it there. General McKenzie, happy Easter again. Thank you for spending some time with us this morning. We appreciate it.
[END TRANSCRIPT]
Artemis II Astronaut Extemporaneously Delivers the Most Profound Easter Message Imaginable
As Christians celebrate Easter, the Artemis II crew continues its 10-day journey through the vastness of space with the goal of exploring the dark side of the moon. On Good Friday, NASA communicated with its astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen mid-journey. Glover professes faith in Jesus Christ and prayed a beautiful and moving prayer before they were launched into space, so the NASA communications asked him whether he had any special message for Good Friday and the upcoming Easter Sunday.
What Glover articulated was, in my eyes, jaw-dropping and awe inspiring:
I believe these observances are important. As we are so far from earth and looking back at the beauty of creation, I think for me, one of the really important, personal perspectives that I have up here is that I can really see earth as one thing. And you know, when I read the Bible and I look at all of the amazing things that were done for us who are created, it's... you have this amazing place, this spaceship. You guys are talking to us because we are in a spaceship really far from earth, but you're on a spaceship called Earth that was created to give us a place to live in the universe — the cosmos — and maybe the distance we are from you makes you think what we're doing is special. But we're the same distance from you, and I'm trying to tell you, just trust me, you are special.
In all of this emptiness, this is a whole bunch of nothing this thing we call the universe, you have this oasis, this beautiful place that we get to exist, together. I think as we go into Easter Sunday, thinking about all the cultures all around the world. Whether you celebrate it or not, whether you believe in God or not, this is an opportunity to remember where we are, WHO we are, and that we are the same thing and we gotta get through this together.
Deeply profound and amazing. However, his words are most powerful when you hear them from his own mouth.
LISTEN:
As someone who will never go to space, and have no desire to, my sense of wonder over being a special part of God's creation is experienced stationed on this third rock from the sun. I have created a new habit (weather permitting) of sitting outside in the morning for my prayer and devotion time. Sitting in nature, and putting the Hebrew word "Selah" into action. One of the joys of now living in the countryside is that a variety of birds flit, fly, and hop around my yard, foraging for their food and sharing their conversations.
As a former city dweller, it's a wondrous thing to listen and distinguish the different coos, calls, and responses from each bird. It's quite deep. And the birds are SO FAT. Not like the scrawny city birds I used to sporadically see. I don't have a feeder set out yet, but between the trees and gardens in our surrounding neighborhood, these birds are well fed, content, and seemingly really happy.
So, like Astronaut Glover from his perch within the cosmos, I get to ponder on how special I am from my perch on my chaise lounge. Matthew 6:26 says:
Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Glover is blessed to understand this profundity from observing God's creation from the vastness of space, and I am blessed to understand this profundity by observing God's creation in my tiny yard. Different perspectives that render the same conclusion.
Both of us are highly privileged, because any time we consider the work of God's hands, whether from space or Earth, the end result is always wonder. And wonder breeds thanksgiving and marvel at just how special we are to God. So special that he sent his only begotten Son to die that we might live and delight not only in the beautiful creation in which he designed for us to reside, but in the beautiful universe where we can find him everywhere, and live in joy, peace and wonder over all he has made.
But it's not solely for us to have a relationship with him as Creator and Lord, but so that we can be in relationship with the creation around us: including our fellow humans.
From the Garden to the Resurrection, God created us to walk with him, and walk with one another other. Astronaut Glover has discovered this in circling the sun in his space travels, and I have discovered this by worshipping the Son each morning.
Where will your discovery be?