- Friday April 17th, 2026
- "It Is Not A Question of Who Is Right Or Wrong But What Is Right Or Wrong That Counts."
- --Geoff Metcalf
- Providing an on line Triage of the news since 1998
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World & Nation
Trump Holds Iran Blockade Despite Hormuz Reopening
Iran said Friday it fully reopened the Strait of Hormuz to commercial
vessels, but President Donald Trump said the American blockade on
Iranian ships and ports “will remain in full force” until Tehran
reaches a deal with the U.S., including on its nuclear program.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X that the crucial
waterway, through which about 20% of the world's oil is shipped, was
now fully open to commercial vessels, as a 10-day truce between Israel
and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon appeared to
hold.
Trump welcomed the Iranian announcement, posting on social media that
the strait was "fully open and ready for full passage.” He later said
the U.S. Navy's blockade would continue “UNTIL SUCH TIME AS OUR
TRANSACTION WITH IRAN IS 100% COMPLETE.”
Macron, Starmer Welcome Hormuz Reopening and Push for Permanent Navigation Security
The leaders of France and the U.K. on Friday welcomed the announcement
by Iran and the U.S. that the Strait of Hormuz is open, but said
freedom of navigation must be permanently restored to the key oil route
choked by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer said they
would keep planning an international mission to restore maritime
security, which Starmer said will be deployed "as soon as conditions
allow." They said military planners will meet in London next week.
Trump says Lebanese and Israeli leaders to speak, Pakistan says Lebanon peace essential
U.S. President Donald Trump said Lebanese and Israeli leaders will
speak for the first time in decades on Thursday, while Pakistan said
peace in Lebanon was essential for talks it is mediating between
Washington and Tehran on ending the Iran war.
The Lebanon conflict spiralled out of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran on
March 2, when Iran-backed Hezbollah opened fire in support of Tehran,
prompting an Israeli offensive in Lebanon just 15 months after the last
major conflict.
The Israeli security cabinet convened late on Wednesday to discuss a possible ceasefire in Lebanon.
"Peace in Lebanon is essential for (Iran) peace talks," Tahir Andrabi, spokesperson for Pakistan's Foreign Ministry, said.
11th scientist death emerges in string of missing, dead officials with access to US secrets
Amy Eskridge, who died in 2022 at age
34, is now cited as the 11th case linked to deaths in advanced research
fields that may be related
The 2022 death of Amy Eskridge, a Huntsville, Alabama–based researcher,
has now resurfaced online as the 11th case in a growing list of
scientists who have died or disappeared under unusual circumstances.
Her death has drawn renewed attention as at least 10 other recent cases
involving individuals tied to U.S. military, nuclear and aerospace
research have prompted questions about whether any pattern exists.
President Donald Trump said Thursday he had "just left a meeting" on
the issue and vowed answers within days, calling the situation "pretty
serious."
"I hope it’s random, but we’re going to know in the next week and a half," Trump told reporters.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X Friday that the
White House's investigation will leave "no stone unturned."
Minnesota prosecutor charges ICE agent in gun incident as Savanah Hernandez case remains uncharged
No charges have been filed in the attack on Turning Point USA reporter Savanah Hernandez at an anti-ICE protest
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent is facing felony
charges in Minnesota after prosecutors said he pointed a gun at two
people during a highway confrontation.
This comes as no charges have been filed in the separate attack on Turning Point USA reporter Savanah Hernandez.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced charges Thursday
against ICE agent Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr. tied to a Feb. 5 incident
on Highway 62 in Minneapolis as part of the broader "Operation Metro
Surge" federal immigration crackdown that drew protests and scrutiny in
the Twin Cities.
Morgan "sped up, pulled alongside the vehicle, matched its speed,
opened his window and pointed his duty weapon directly at both
victims," Moriarty said during a press conference.
Trump Rejects Cash-for-Uranium Deal With Iran
President Donald Trump on Friday pushed back on a report that the
United States and Iran may include a proposal that would see Washington
release up to $20 billion in frozen Iranian funds in exchange for
Tehran surrendering its enriched uranium stockpile as part of an
agreement to end their ongoing conflict.
The negotiations come amid a fragile ceasefire following weeks of
conflict that disrupted global energy markets and prompted a U.S.
military blockade of Iranian ports and shipping routes tied to the
Strait of Hormuz.
Officials said the talks have shown "steady progress" this week, though
key differences remain, particularly over the scope and duration of
limits on Iran's nuclear program.
Jen Psaki shuts down 25th amendment talk about Trump, declares it's 'not going to happen'
More than 50 Democratic lawmakers have called for Trump's removal, in addition to some GOP critics
MS NOW host Jen Psaki tamped down talk about using the 25th Amendment
against President Donald Trump on Thursday during an interview with
Stephen A. Smith, questioning why Democrats were so focused on it when
it was "never going to happen."
Smith asked Psaki during his show, "Straight Shooter," about the left
being so "fervently against the other side" that it comes across as
"vitriolic."
"I think there are times, I think a lot of people on — and I can't
speak for everybody on the left, I don't agree with everything
everybody says on the left either — you know, sometimes it's like not
constructive," Psaki said. "I mean, you've talked about the 25th
Amendment. I have no issue with people saying they're for invoking the
25th Amendment, but it's not going to happen. So, it's like why are we
spending so much time, you know?"
Smith has also shut down talk of using the 25th Amendment against Trump.
Justice Thomas warns progressivism is a threat to America in rare public remarks
Thomas's remarks urged young people to have courage and stand up for their ideals
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas issued a blistering critique of
modern-day progressivism in a rare public speech on Wednesday,
describing the modern political philosophy as a threat to America's
founding principles.
Speaking to a packed auditorium of students and faculty at the
University of Texas at Austin to mark the 250th anniversary of the
signing of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas, the Supreme Court's
longest-serving justice, urged the nation to revisit the philosophical
foundations of U.S. governance.
He said Wednesday that values embraced by the nation's founders have
"fallen out of favor" in recent decades and urged younger generations
to stand up for their principles.
Supreme Court Gives Oil Companies Win in Louisiana Environmental Case
The Supreme Court handed a win Friday to oil and gas companies fighting
lawsuits over coastal land loss and environmental degradation in
Louisiana.
The 8-0 procedural decision gives the companies a new day in federal
court after a state jury ordered Chevron to pay upward of $740 million
to clean up damage to the state’s coastline, one of multiple similar
lawsuits.
Backed by the Trump administration, the companies argued the case
belongs in federal court because they began oil production and refining
during World War II as U.S. contractors. They deny responsibility for
land loss in Louisiana and argue it's wrong to sue them for what they
did before state environmental regulations were in place.
GREGG JARRETT: Long-hidden documents reveal first Trump impeachment was a total fraud
Tulsi Gabbard sends criminal referrals to DOJ targeting the inspector general and the CIA analyst whistleblower
Newly declassified documents prove that the first impeachment of
President Donald Trump in 2019-2020 was a carefully orchestrated fraud.
It all was concocted by Trump-hating "deep state actors" within the
intelligence community who secretly conspired with Democrats in
Congress to remove Trump from office and subvert the will of the
American people who had put him there.
The damning evidence was produced Monday, April 13 by Director of
National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard. On Wednesday, she sent criminal
referrals to the Department of Justice (DOJ) aimed at two of the
central figures who propelled the impeachment proceedings, accusing
them of manufacturing a conspiracy.
The first is Michael Atkinson, who served as the inspector general (IG)
of the Intelligence Community at the time of the impeachment hearings,
and the whistleblower who filed a formal complaint about Trump’s July
2019 telephone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Putin accidentally created a high-tech Ukrainian defense that he has no idea how to handle
By New York Post Editorial Board
It’s now been over four years since Vladimir Putin launched the attack
he expected to conquer Ukraine in a week — and unexpectedly created a
high-tech military juggernaut that continues to humiliate him.
“For the first time in the history of this war, Ukrainian warriors
captured an enemy position using exclusively unmanned platforms,”
President Volodymyr Zelensky boasted to defense workers the other day.
Actually, it was the first time in history, period, that entirely
remote-controlled robotic systems captured an enemy position, with no
help from human infantry.
