- Tuesday September 29th, 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
Iran’s economy will have 'nothing' left 'within two weeks,' Scott Bessent warns
Iran’s beleaguered economy will soon have “nothing to trade” in about
two weeks after it makes its final oil deliveries, Treasury Secretary
Scott Bessent claimed.
Bessent assessed that the Islamic Republic is becoming desperate to
make a deal because of its collapsing economy, hastened by Operation
Economic Outcast, and warned that its problems will get dramatically
worse in two weeks.
“I am confident, given that there’s only 15 million more barrels of
Iranian oil on the water, that Iran will have nothing left to trade for
anything,” Bessent told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.”
“Probably within the next two weeks, they are going to make their final
deliveries of oil to China, and then they will have nothing,” Bessent
added. “It is an empty set. And I believe that they are feeling the
pressure here, and that’s why they want a deal.”
Motorcycle patrols swarm Iranian cities, checkpoints rise as regime braces for unrest
Checkpoints, motorcycle patrols and plainclothes agents spread across major cities amid unrest over compulsory hijab rules
Iranian security forces have stepped up their presence in Tehran and
other cities, with motorcycle patrols, checkpoints and forces
positioned across major urban areas as authorities brace for possible
unrest, multiple sources inside Iran told Fox News Digital.
The security buildup comes as university students have returned to the
streets in Tehran, protesting compulsory hijab rules, rising education
costs and political repression, videos published on Iran International
show.
Sources inside Iran confirmed to Fox News Digital that motorcycle units
have been operating across Tehran and other cities during events
surrounding Iran’s annual "Sacred Defense Week," while members of the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Basij and law enforcement have been
positioned at major squares and other locations.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards woo US voters with open letter
Iran's Revolutionary Guards, whose power and influence have expanded
since the US and Israel pursued war against Iran, have appealed to US
midterm voters to reject President Donald Trump's policies and accept
an offer of peaceful coexistence.
The assertions were made on Tuesday in a 25-page open letter addressed
to the American people, urging them to oppose US support for Israel and
foreign wars and arguing that Iran and the US could coexist if US
policy changed.
The letter accused Trump of concealing the peaceful nature of Iran's
nuclear programme, which Israel in particular sees as an existential
threat, and the effectiveness of Tehran's blockade of Gulf oil.
Rubio Says UK Airbase Incident Involved Foreign State
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the "hands of a foreign actor" were
involved in an incident in which five men were arrested on suspected
explosives and terrorism offenses near a British airbase used by U.S.
forces to strike Iran.
British police declared a major incident at the RAF Fairford base in
western England following the arrests early on Sunday, and the
government held a national emergency meeting.
However the police released the five on bail on Monday, but said the
investigation was not over and they were examining whether individuals
acting for a foreign state were involved.
Sickening new texts in ‘Cornell 7’ group chat revealed: ‘Shop still open?’
.![A Cornell University fraternity brother asked if the “shop [was] still open” in reference to the female student who was allegedly drugged and raped in an hours-long gang assault in their Ithaca](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQTf4rH3jShcopp4hSzwak6SOUXNTLMbpLqwU3hf-pEPQ&s)
A Cornell University frat brother asked if the “shop [was] still open”
in reference to the female student who was allegedly drugged and raped
in an hourslong gang assault in their Ithaca house, according to
sickening newly obtained messages.
The message was sent in a Snapchat group chain between members of the
Phi Chi fraternity on the night the student, referred to in court
papers only as “Jane Doe,” claimed she was plied with drugs and
sexually assaulted by seven students in October 2024.
“Shop still open?” read the text, obtained by CBS New York.
“Yea,” another frat bro flippantly responded.
Inside Operation Blackout: Patel reveals global scam ‘cities’ targeting your parents’ life savings
The global campaign targets sprawling scam compounds across Southeast Asia, the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa
FBI Director Kash Patel says the bureau is expanding its
global hunt for sprawling scam compounds that prey heavily on
Americans, telling Fox News Digital that Operation Blackout has seized
roughly $17 billion tied to the schemes.
"At 71 years old, I'm old enough to know that people my age are
certainly often targeted because of our unfamiliarity with certain new
technologies. Thanks so much for looking out for us," one victim told
the FBI.
"I watched my grandmother lose her life savings to scammers and I would love to see them all be put away," said another victim.
Operation Blackout is the FBI’s global campaign to identify, disrupt
and dismantle foreign scam compounds targeting Americans, combining
overseas raids and asset seizures with efforts to cut off the networks’
communications, rescue trafficked workers and return stolen money to
victims.
Senate Republicans rip ‘dirtbag’ Jack Smith over Trump investigations: ‘You make me want to throw up in my mouth’
Former special counsel Jack Smith squared off with Republicans on the
Senate Judiciary Committee who accused him Tuesday of illegally
targeting President Trump and GOP lawmakers.
In the most stunning moment of the hearing, Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.)
claimed Smith had perjured himself by denying that he had coordinated
his case against the 45th president with Atlanta District Attorney Fani
Willis — only for Schmitt to be embarrassed by one of his Democratic
colleagues.
“What would you say if I had a series of text messages from your team
that said you were in Atlanta at a [Golden State Warriors]-Hawks game
on February 3, 2024, the day after Willis and [her top prosecutor,
Nathan] Wade announced their affair?” Schmitt asked.
Riley Gaines' lawsuit vs NCAA dismissed by Biden-appointed judge, appeal planned
Gaines and the Independent Council on Women's Sports plan to appeal the ruling to the 11th Circuit
A federal judge dismissed Riley Gaines’ lawsuit against the NCAA on
Monday after concluding that the evidence did not establish the NCAA as
a recipient of federal financial assistance subject to Title IX. Gaines
and the Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS) plan to appeal.
Gaines and more than a dozen other current and former female college
athletes filed the lawsuit in March 2024, alleging the NCAA violated
their Title IX rights by adopting and enforcing policies that permitted
biological males to compete in women’s events and use women’s locker
rooms.
The plaintiffs have 30 days to file a notice of appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit,
Sen. Hawley: Hold AI Companies Accountable
Artificial intelligence companies should be held responsible for the
actions of their technology, according to Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo.
Hawley, writing in a Washington Post opinion piece Tuesday, said he is
introducing legislation that would allow companies to face civil and
potentially criminal liability when their AI agents cause harm because
of reckless design or inadequate safeguards.
Hawley said users also should be held responsible when they recklessly deploy AI agents.
"We shouldn’t accept" arguments that companies cannot be responsible
because increasingly autonomous AI agents can act beyond their direct
control, Hawley wrote.
Lindsay Clancy lawyer stunningly suggests no evidence mom killed her kids in wild U-turn after mistrial
Lindsay Clancy’s lawyer asked, “Where is the evidence” that the
Massachusetts mother of three strangled her kids – an apparent flip
from the defense strategy at trial that she was psychotic at the time.
Defense lawyer Kevin Reddington asked a judge to find the 36-year-old
Duxbury, Massachusetts, mom not guilty on three counts of first-degree
murder following a six-week trial that ended with a deadlocked jury
earlier this month.
“Where is the evidence that she did this?” Reddington asked.
Hegseth to double cuts to generals, admirals in major Pentagon shakeup
War secretary's State of the Force address doubles last year's 10% reduction target, with changes due by Jan 1, 2027
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth testifies before the Senate on the administration's military funding requests.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth will announce plans to reduce by 20% the
number of positions reserved for generals and admirals during his State
of the Force address on Wednesday.
Hegseth approved reduction plans for the Army, Navy, Air Force and the
military's joint pool earlier this month, according to memos seen by
Fox News Digital. The services were directed to implement the plans and
complete the reductions by Jan. 1, 2027.
Russia Offering US Recruits $26,000 Bonus to Fight Ukraine
Russia is offering American recruits a $26,000 signing bonus and $2,000
a month to fight in Ukraine, as Ukrainian officials say at least 18
Americans have joined the Russian military.
The recruitment drive comes as Russia struggles to replace its battlefield losses, The New York Post reported Monday.
Many foreign recruits are sent to the front lines, where Ukrainian drones, soldiers, and artillery make survival difficult.
Vance Ally Sen. Schmitt Emerges as 2028 VP Prospect
Fresh 2028 intrigue is building around Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., whose
increasingly close relationship with Vice President JD Vance has put
the first-term senator on the radar as a potential future running mate,
Axios reported on Tuesday.
Schmitt, 51, the former Missouri attorney general who now serves as
vice chair of the Joint Economic Committee, is viewed by Vance as
trustworthy, intelligent, and articulate, according to the outlet.
The outlet said Schmitt is emerging as a potential vice-presidential
prospect should Vance seek the Republican presidential nomination in
2028.
President Trump and the American military have beaten Iran
The price of oil will reflect that in the coming weeks and months
By Hugh Hewitt
"Iran’s regime has lost control of the Strait of Hormuz," Swiss energy
analyst and investor Alexander Stahel declared in his Monday morning
investment letter "The Commodity Compass."
Stahel followed up his assertion with a 1,200-word description
(excluding maps and charts) of how the operation that he describes as
"the Hormuz shuttle" got stood up and is now running massive quantities
of oil out of the Arabian/Persian Gulf to an oil-thirsty world.
First, the United Arab Emirates and then its neighbors developed an
enormous system to shuttle oil out of the Gulf via a new shipping
channel which hugs the Omani coast and which is patrolled and protected
by the United States military. Central Command isn’t replicating the
destroyer-heavy escort system of decades past when Iran threatened the
Strait, but its new tactics are effective and the September decline in
the price of oil demonstrated that, as October’s anticipated decline
will as well.
Trump’s Iran strategy is working — the ayatollah suffers as oil flows again
By Zineb Riboua
For months, analysts have debated whether President Donald Trump’s campaign against Iran was working.
Tehran’s propaganda has tried to turn high oil prices and slow negotiations into evidence of US weakness.
The reality is less flattering for the regime and its military, the
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps: Trump has forced them into a
prolonged cold-hot war that drains their finances, strains their
regional network and strips away their leverage.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has moved back toward pre-war
levels — and Iran’s domestic deterioration is increasingly difficult to
dismiss.
Iran’s rial fell to roughly 2.2 million to the dollar in September, from about 958,000 a year earlier.
