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Wednesday, April 8, 2026

Giluiani on RICO case he had prepared for ‘point man’ Joe Biden

 Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani told “Pod Force One” in an episode released Wednesday that he had drafted a racketeering case against Joe Biden that alleged the former vice president served as “point man” in foreign policy posts that often did nothing for the US — but got his own family “rich.”

“The laptop made it about as easy to prosecute a conspiracy, RICO, whatever you want, a case … that I’d ever seen,” Giuliani told The Post’s Miranda Devine on the podcast, referring to emails on Hunter Biden’s abandoned laptop, FBI informant files and other information showing the future 46th president “took massive bribes.”

Biden has repeatedly denied any involvement in his son Hunter or brother James’ business ventures before, during and after his presidential term, referring to the allegations as “a bunch of lies.”

Biden has repeatedly denied any involvement in his son Hunter or brother James’ business ventures before, during and after his presidential term, referring to the allegations as “a bunch of lies.”Getty Images

Giuliani, the former US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, then laid out several instances in which Biden was “the point man for Obama” in countries — including in Iraq and Ukraine — where his family sought business deals while he was vice president.

“He had a very simple mission in Iraq. His mission was to negotiate a status of forces agreement with the Iraq government that we basically controlled,” Giuliani recalled.

“That means, if we leave soldiers behind in a volatile situation, they get prosecuted by us, not by a government that might be partially terrorist.”

“We can’t leave our soldiers in that situation,” he said.

“But, of course, as his fellow Secretary of Defense [Robert Gates] said, Biden never did anything in foreign policy.

“He comes back with no status of forces agreement, which means we have to leave Iraq completely,” Giuliani added. “America gets nothing … but his brother gets a 25% piece of a billion-dollar housing deal and, as usual, knows nothing about housing.”

The $1.5 billion contract would have seen 100,000 low-cost homes built in Iraq as part of James Biden‘s 2010 joint venture, known as HillStone International — but construction was never started.

“The laptop made it about as easy to prosecute a conspiracy, RICO, whatever you want, a case … that I’d ever seen,” Rudy Giuliani told The Post’s Miranda Devine on the podcast.

At the time, Joe Biden had “regular engagement with Iraq” through his work for the Obama administration.

The Iraqi home-building venture ended in 2012, and it’s unclear what James Biden earned over the roughly two-year tenue, The Wall Street Journal first reported.

Giuliani also called out Biden on the podcast for blundering in having mentioned his efforts to get Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin fired while his son Hunter was serving on the board of the gas company Burisma that was under state investigation.

Biden oversaw Ukraine as part of his foreign policy portfolio at the time as well.

“He got appointed to run Ukraine, particularly the flow of money to Ukraine. And, he’s supposed to help them become honest,” Giuliani said. “He’s supposed to help them deal with their corruption, and he’s supposed to help them fight Russia.”

But Biden “threatened [then-Ukrainian President Petro] Poroshenko with withholding a billion dollars of US aid unless you fire Viktor Shokin, the prosecutor general, who was investigating Burisma,” Giuliani added.

Giuliani had received information starting in late 2018 about the pressure campaign to oust Shokin, he said.

Giuliani had received information starting in late 2018 about the pressure campaign to oust Shokin, he said.

Subsequent FBI files released by congressional Republicans show that an informant said Joe and Hunter Biden each took $5 million bribes from Burisma’s owner in exchange for providing protection from Shokin’s corruption investigation — allegations the Bidens have denied.

Giuliani said that in addition to Iraq and Ukraine, the other two aspects of the RICO case would have involved Russia — including a “very odd” $3.5 million wire transfer from a Russian billionaire to Hunter Biden — and more than $5 million from a joint venture with a Chinese energy conglomerate, CEFC.

“He made it to the top and he got lucky. Biden may have taken more bribes than any American president, just by force of circumstances,” the former New York City mayor said.

Biden had in the past laughed off the bribery and corruption accusations, saying in response to a question from The Post in June 2023, “Where’s the money?

Reps for Biden did not respond to a request for comment.

https://nypost.com/2026/04/08/us-news/rudy-giluiani-tells-pod-force-one-about-rico-case-he-had-prepared-for-point-man-joe-biden/

Iran threatens to ‘destroy’ ships that pass through Strait of Hormuz — despite cease-fire pact

 Iran’s battered navy has reportedly warned foreign ships on Wednesday that they will be “destroyed” if they attempt to cross the Strait of Hormuz without permission from Tehran.

“You must receive permission from Iranian Sepah navy for passing through the strait. If any vessel tries to transit without permission, will be destroyed,” an Iranian official was heard saying in audio shared with the Wall Street Journal by a crew member.

The threat comes despite President Trump announcing late Tuesday that Iran agreed to the “COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz,” through which over a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil flows annually.

Boats off the coast of Musandam governorate, overlooking the Strait of Hormuz, in Musandam governance, in Oman, April 8, 2026.REUTERS
A number of vessels near the Strait of Hormuz on April 8, 2026.REUTERS

The opening of the strait was a key condition of the Iran war cease-fire agreement. Fuel prices have surged worldwide in the wake of Iran’s closure of the crucial chokepoint.

Tehran had used missiles and drones to wreak havoc on the strait in retaliation against the joint US-Israeli strikes on its country to exact a toll on the global economy.

The cease-fire Trump unveiled Tuesday lasts for two weeks as the two sides negotiate a longer-term solution to end the war that began on Feb. 28.

The scene in Tehran on April 8, 2026.AFP via Getty Images

A senior Iranian official involved in the talks said the strait could be reopened in a “limited” way under Iran’s control on Thursday or Friday — and that “coordinating with Iranian military will be mandatory for all ships.”

“If an understanding on a framework for talks is reached, the strait could be opened, limited, under Iran’s control,” the official told Reuters. “Coordinating with Iranian military will be mandatory for all ships.

“Still, the cease-fire is fragile; however, we prefer lasting peace but Iran has no fear to return to war if the US wants to go the same way,” the official warned.

A graphic of the first ships that were able to pass through the Strait of Hormuz after the cease-fire.Anadolu via Getty Images

In a press conference Wednesday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth insisted the strait was open and “commerce will flow.”

“What has been agreed to, what’s been stated, is the strait is open. Our military is watching, sure, their military is watching, but commerce will flow,” he told reporters.

He added that the military would be “hanging around” in the Middle East to ensure Iran complies with the cease-fire.

Ships off the coast in the Strait of Hormuz.REUTERS

But in an apparent sign of that fragility, Iran was accused of launching a wave of drones on neighboring Kuwait, where American air bases have been used to direct strikes on the Iranian regime.

Iran’s drones targeted vital oil facilities, power stations, and water desalination plants, causing major infrastructure damage, according to Kuwait’s army.

Hegseth downplayed the concern over the strikes, saying that it can take time for “cease-fires to take hold.”

Anadolu via Getty Images

“Iran would be wise to find a way to get the carrier pigeon to their troops out in remote locations to know not to shoot, not to shoot any longer one-way attacks or missiles — because it takes time sometimes for cease-fires to take hold,” he told reporters, adding that “we’re watching it.”

World leaders from across Europe and the Middle East, meanwhile, praised Trump’s deal, and urged Iran to accept a lasting peace plan.

“I welcome the two-week ceasefire agreed upon by the USA and Iran overnight,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in a statement on social media, thanking Pakistan for assisting with the negotiations.

Pete Hegseth and Dan Caine held a press briefing at the Pentagon on April 8, 2026.Getty Images

“The goal now must be to negotiate a permanent end to the war. We are in close contact with our partners regarding this matter,” Merz added.

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer also said the deal would “bring a moment of relief to the region and the world” as he called for a “lasting agreement” to help “reopen the Strait of Hormuz.”

https://nypost.com/2026/04/08/world-news/iran-threatens-to-destroy-ships-that-pass-through-strait-of-hormuz-despite-cease-fire-pact/

Waters Gets FDA Approval for At-Home HPV Self-Collection Kit

 The Food and Drug Administration has given the go ahead to Waters' at-home cervical cancer screening tool, potentially removing a barrier that prevents many women from receiving routine screening.

The life sciences and diagnostics company said Wednesday the regulator cleared its Onclarity HPV Self-Collection Kit and approved the BD Onclarity HPV Assay with extended genotyping for at-home use. Both are manufactured by Becton, Dickinson and Co.

Cervical cancer is largely preventable with regular screening and early detection of human papillomavirus, or HPV, the virus responsible for nearly all cervical cancers.

"Expanding access to screening is one of the most important steps we can take to prevent cervical cancer, and at-home HPV self-collection is a game changer for making screening easier to complete," Jeff Andrews, vice president of medical affairs at Waters Advanced Diagnostics, said.

Waters said it currently establishing partnerships to provide broader nationwide access to the Onclarity HPV Self-Collection Kit, which is expected to be available by prescription in the coming months. Covered by private insurance, Medicaid and Medicare, the kit can be mailed directly to a patient's home, allowing them to collect a sample and mail it to a laboratory for processing.

The kit is tested with the BD Onclarity HPV Assay, which detects all of the high-risk, carcinogenic genotypes of HPV, the company said.

https://www.morningstar.com/news/dow-jones/202604084415/waters-gets-fda-approval-for-at-home-hpv-self-collection-kit

Iran must compensate Qatar for strike damage, Doha tells UN

 

Qatar has formally notified the United Nations that it holds Iran legally and financially responsible for drone and missile strikes launched against Qatari territory.

Doha said Tehran must “provide compensation for all damages incurred by the state of Qatar as a result of these acts.”

https://www.iranintl.com/en/liveblog/202604067622

Hegseth says Iran deal followed loss of leadership, says Tehran ‘out of options’

 


US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday Iran agreed to a deal after its leadership was severely weakened, adding Tehran was “out of options and out of time.”

“The new Iranian regime understood that a deal was far better than the fate that awaited them,” he said at a Pentagon briefing.

He said Iran’s leadership had been “systematically eliminated,” listing multiple senior officials he said were killed.

“This new regime is out of options and out of time, so they cut a deal,” he said, adding the agreement meant Iran would “never, ever possess a nuclear weapon.”

https://www.iranintl.com/en/liveblog/202604067622

Iran nuclear material to be removed, Hegseth says

 


US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that Iran’s nuclear material would be removed under the terms of a deal and ruled out any future weapons capability.

“Any nuclear material they should not have will be removed,” he said at a Pentagon briefing.

“There will be no Iranian nuclear weapons. Period, full stop,” he added, saying President Donald Trump had delivered on that goal.

https://www.iranintl.com/en/liveblog/202604067622

Saudi East-West oil pipeline hit in drone attack - FT

 


Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline, a key export route carrying crude from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea, was hit in a drone attack, the Financial Times reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.

The report said a pumping station on the 1,200-km pipeline was struck at about 1 p.m. local time on Wednesday. One of the people said the damage was still being assessed.

The pipeline has become an economic lifeline for the kingdom as Saudi Aramco rerouted exports to the Red Sea to avoid the Strait of Hormuz.

The reported attack came hours after Iran and the United States agreed a ceasefire on Tuesday evening US time.

https://www.iranintl.com/en/liveblog/202604067622