Welcome to the first (and very much trial) roundup of the day’s news from The National Pulse team. I’m your Editor-in-Chief, Raheem Kassam. Read more about our format experimentation here.
1. Now You Ceasefire, Now You Don’t.
The global news focus is on the shaky ceasefire announced late last night, with details still changing minute by minute.
PULSE POINTS: IRAN WAR.
❓WHAT HAPPENED: President Trump announced a two-week ceasefire, brokered in part by Pakistan, last night. Over the course of Wednesday, Israel’s military continued to strike Lebanon. Gulf nations reported continued Iranian and drone attacks post-ceasefire. Reports also emerged that while Iran had opened the Strait of Hormuz, it’s not as clear-cut as it seems. Reports of stoppages, blockages, and turn-arounds abounded on Wednesday. Benjamin Netanyahu gave a press statement at 1:15PM EST, with White House Press Secretary following up immediately after. President Trump announced new secondary tariffs of 50 percent on nations supplying weapons to Iran, effective immediately.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: President Trump, Prime Minister Netanyahu, the Iranian regime, Press Sec Karoline Leavitt, and the nation of Lebanon.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Wednesday, April 8, 2026.
💬KEY QUOTE: “There are still additional objectives for us to achieve, and we will achieve them… we are ready to resume the fighting at any moment, our finger is on the trigger… this is not the end of the war… The enriched uranium will be removed…” – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
🎯IMPACT: Markets opened stronger on Wednesday, and the Brent Crude oil price fell below $100 a barrel for the first time in weeks. Britain’s Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, traveled to Saudi Arabia for discussions on how to keep the Strait open. Vice President J.D Vance, Jared Kushner, and Steve Witkoff are heading to Islamabad, Pakistan this weekend for further talks.
2. Dirty Dem Faces Life on Child Sex Charges.
PULSE POINTS: DEMON DEMOCRAT TARGETED 15-YEAR-OLD.
❓WHAT HAPPENED: Ex-North Carolina State Rep Cecil Brockman faces eight felony child sex crime charges, several carrying the potential for life in prison. Brockman was arrested in October 2025 after allegedly targeting a 15-year-old boy on the gay dating app Grindr. He had even been living with the minor, using his official position to report the teenager as missing to the police. Investigators later found incriminating videos on the victim’s phone. The alleged incidents occurred in August 2025.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Cecil Brockman, a Democrat and former North Carolina State Representative.
📍WHEN & WHERE: New charges announced in April 2026, following initial arrest in October 2025.
💬KEY QUOTE: “I would like to know why lies are being accepted without there being a rebuttal to those lies.” – Cecil Brockman
🎯IMPACT: Following his arrest, Brockman resigned from his seat representing District 60 (High Point and parts of Guilford County) to avoid an expulsion vote. A grand jury later added more serious indictments, including multiple counts of statutory sex offense with a child 15 or younger, indecent liberties with a child, and first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.
📺PICTURED: Brockman, for his mugshot.
3. Trump Staffer J6 Turncoat Under DOJ Investigation.
PULSE POINTS: SHE SAYS TRUMP LUNGED AT SECRET SERVICE TO HIJACK PRESIDENTIAL LIMO.
❓WHAT HAPPENED: The Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched an investigation into former Trump White House aide turned Democrat-led January 6 Committee ‘star witness’ Cassidy Hutchinson over allegations of perjury during her testimony before the committee in 2022. It is believed that the probe was kick-started after the DOJ received evidence and a referral from a member of Congress, and will be handled by the department’s Civil Rights Division. Hutchinson testified that Trump had lunged at a Secret Service agent in a presidential limo when he was supposedly told he could not join his supporters at the Capitol. These claims were later contradicted by other testimonies.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Cassidy Hutchinson, the DOJ Civil Rights Division, the former January 6 Committee, former Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-WY), and President Donald J. Trump.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The probe reportedly began in recent weeks, following a referral from a member of Congress. Hutchinson’s testimony occurred in 2022.
🎯IMPACT: Liz Cheney—a rabidly anti-Trump Republican—was accused in a preliminary report issued by the House Administration Oversight Subcommittee of engaging in witness tampering while serving on the unlawfully constituted J6 Committee. According to the report, Cheney coached Hutchinson on her testimony and urged her to alter parts of her story. Consequently, the subcommittee report alleged Hutchinson committed perjury. Additional falsehoods peddled by Hutchinson and exposed by The National Pulse include her denial that she ever dated former Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL). The National Pulse also revealed screenshots taken from Hutchinson’s phone, showing late-night FaceTime (video call) pillow talk with Gaetz that Hutchinson had sent to friends, bragging that the two were dating.
📺FLASHBACK: Watch Cassidy getting led by Liz Cheney.
4. Bad Omen for Midterms as GOP Vote Shrinks Back.
PULSE POINTS: GEORGIA AND WISCONSIN.
❓WHAT HAPPENED: Democrats won a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat by 20 points, with Democratic-backed Appeals Court Judge Chris Taylor defeating Republican-backed Appeals Court Judge Maria Lazar. Tuesday’s election result nearly doubled the margin of leftist Justice Susan Crawford’s win last year, indicating a growing liberal presence in the state judiciary. Notably, in the 2025 race, technology mogul Elon Musk spent an estimated $25 million supporting Brad Schimel, a former county circuit court judge and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) attorney. Republicans held the GA-14 seat vacated by Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), but with a significantly reduced vote share.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Chris Taylor, Maria Lazar, Clay Fuller, and Sean Harris.
💬KEY QUOTE: Fuller, a district attorney and Air National Guard lieutenant colonel, credited President Trump for his win in Georgia, stating, “He was the difference maker. He was the key factor in us winning,” though some argue his reduced vote share is a bad omen for Republican midterm hopes.
🎯IMPACT: Taylor’s victory in Wisconsin secures the Democrat-backed Appeals Court judge a 10-year term on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, while Fuller’s win helps preserve the slim Republican majority in the House, at least until November.
📺GRAPHIC: An animated GIF from the New York Times website, displaying the election results in both races.
5. Bill Gates, Howard Lutnick, Pam Bondi All Face Epstein Grilling.
PULSE POINTS: THE HOUSE INVESTIGATION CONTINUES APACE.
❓WHAT HAPPENED: Billionaire globalist Bill Gates and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will sit for depositions before the House Oversight Committee in the coming weeks, as the committee continues its investigation into convicted pedophile sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein. Lutnick, a key figure in the Trump administration, confirmed earlier this year that he, his wife, four children, and nannies visited Epstein’s private Caribbean island, Little St. James, in December 2012—four years after the now deceased financier pleaded guilty to procuring a minor for prostitution. Former U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi was also slated to testify, though the DOJ announced on Wednesday that she would no longer appear for the interview. Oversight Chairman James Comer’s office said, “The Committee will contact Pam Bondi’s personal counsel to discuss next steps regarding scheduling her deposition.”
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Bill Gates, Howard Lutnick, and Pam Bondi.
💬KEY QUOTE: “I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit.” – Bill Gates on his time with Epstein.
🎯ADDED INFO: The Commerce Secretary will sit for a closed-door interview with lawmakers on May 6. Gates—who allegedly contracted a sexually-transmitted disease (STD) from “Russian girls,” according to an email authored by Epstein—will sit for a transcribed deposition on June 10. In February, during a town hall with Gates Foundation staff, the globalist billionaire admitted that it was a “huge mistake to spend time with Epstein,” but asserted, “I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit.” Gates claimed he initially believed Epstein could help advance his global health philanthropy efforts. However, he acknowledged that these efforts were ineffective and his meetings with Epstein were misguided. Gates stated, “In retrospect, I was foolish to spend any time with him. It was just a huge mistake.”
6. The CIA’s Incredible New Tech That Saved U.S. Airman in Iran.
PULSE POINTS: THE CIA CAN HEAR YOUR HEARTBEAT.
❓WHAT HAPPENED: The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) used an advanced tool called “Ghost Murmur” to locate and rescue an American airman known as “Dude 44 Bravo” after his jet was shot down in southern Iran. Developed by Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works division, the system relies on long-range quantum magnetometry to detect the electromagnetic signature of a human heartbeat from many miles away, and uses artificial intelligence (AI) to isolate the signal. Ghost Murmur picked up his heartbeat in a largely empty landscape with minimal background interference. A source familiar with the technology described it as “like hearing a voice in a stadium, except the stadium is a thousand square miles of desert.”
📍WHEN & WHERE: The rescue took place on Easter Sunday in southern Iran.
💬KEY QUOTE: “It’s like finding a needle in a haystack, finding this pilot, and the CIA was unbelievable.” – President Trump
🎯DETAIL: This was the first time the CIA had deployed the system in an actual operation. It uses quantum magnetometry sensors based on microscopic defects in synthetic diamonds and can detect signals over long distances. Experts note that it performs best in remote, low-clutter areas but requires substantial processing time.
7. Iryna Zarutska’s Murderer May Be Let Off State Charges.
PULSE POINTS: SICKO IS ‘TOO PSYCHO’ FOR STATE ACCOUNTABILITY.
❓WHAT HAPPENED: DeCarlos Brown Jr., 35, has been ruled “incapable to proceed” on state murder charges in the death of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, 23. Brown, who allegedly shouted “I got that white girl” after stabbing Zarutska to death on a light-rail train in August, told police he has schizophrenia. He faces both state and federal murder charges. The finding was included in court filings submitted by his state public defender. Roberts asked the court to postpone Brown’s Rule 24 hearing, which determines whether prosecutors will seek the death penalty. Notably, North Carolina has had a de facto moratorium on executions for the past two decades. Under North Carolina law, a defendant is considered capable only if they can understand the charges against them, know their role in the courtroom, and rationally assist in their own defense.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Alleged murderer DeCarlos Brown Jr. and victim Iryna Zarutska.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The killing took place in Charlotte, North Carolina, in August; the court filings were made in Mecklenburg Superior Court on April 8, 2026.
🎯DETAIL: The state hearing is paused for six months; Brown remains in federal custody.
📺RELATED: A mural of Zarutska was recently covered up, and the mayor of Providence, RI, called it “divisive.”
8. RFK’s Starting a Podcast.
PULSE POINTS: HE’S RUNNING IN 2028, RIGHT?
❓WHAT HAPPENED: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.), U.S. Secretary for Health and Human Services (HHS), has announced the launch of a new health-focused podcast titled The Secretary Kennedy Podcast.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: HHS, Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and HHS Digital Director Liam Nahill.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The podcast will officially launch next week; a teaser trailer was released on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, April 8, 2026.
💬KEY QUOTE: “We’re going to name the names of the forces that obstruct the paths to public health.” – Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
🎯WHY? The podcast will serve as a platform for RFK Jr. and his Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda, and as an outreach arm for HHS. It will be the first podcast hosted by a sitting U.S. Cabinet secretary.
FLASHBACK: 
