- Tuesday July 21st, 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 Has 2 Options on Iran War
President Donald Trump is weighing two dramatically different paths in
the escalating conflict with Iran: Accepting a new 10-day ceasefire
proposal designed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or joining Israel in a
major military campaign aimed at forcing Tehran to back down, according
to Axios.
The report said U.S. and Israeli officials believe the next several
days will determine whether diplomacy can halt the fighting or whether
the conflict expands into a broader regional war.
Regional mediators, including Qatar, Egypt, Pakistan, and Oman, have
presented Washington and Tehran with a proposal calling for a 10-day
ceasefire that would reopen shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz
and provide time for negotiations on a longer-term maritime security
agreement.
Treasury stopped nearly $100M in taxpayer money from going to dead people after new gov’t measure implemented
The Treasury Department has blocked nearly $100 million in taxpayer
money from going to dead people since implementing a government-wide
payment verification process last year, The Post has learned.
The department’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service discovered the money set
to go to ghosts after a review of an eye-popping 885 million payments
worth a total of nearly $2.7 trillion.
Since March 2025, the screening has identified more than 4,900
disbursements, worth approximately $99 million, associated with
deceased payees, according to the Treasury.
RFK Jr. yanks Medicaid funds to California and Minnesota, says Dems ‘opened the floodgates to theft’
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Tuesday
he’s stopping more than $1 billion in federal Medicaid payments to
California and Minnesota over suspected fraud.
“We are not sending Medicaid dollars out the door until we have
confidence that they are being spent lawfully and appropriately,”
Kennedy said at an announcement on Tuesday.
Kennedy said if California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and Minnesota Gov. Tim
Walz (D) want the money to fund low-income healthcare, “they need to
provide documentation that these payments are legitimate.”
Kennedy blamed the Biden administration and the Democratic leadership
in both blue states for alleged misuse of taxpayer dollars.
Trump says Iran wants to ‘desperately meet’ following waves of US strikes
President Donald Trump said Tuesday at the White House that Iran wants to “desperately meet.”
The revelation comes after U.S. Central Command carried out waves of
airstrikes against Iranian military targets in recent days.
“They can not have a nuclear weapon and they won't have -- they have no
chance of having a nuclear weapon... But we are doing very well. We are
degrading them at levels that nobody thought was possible,” Trump
continued.
Appeals court rejects Biden bid to block release of ghostwriter recordings used in special counsel probe
Former President Joe Biden lost his bid Monday to block the release of
audio recordings and transcripts of interviews with his longtime
ghostwriter that were used in special counsel Robert Hur’s
investigation into Biden’s unlawful hoarding of classified information.
A divided federal appeals court ruled the 46th president’s privacy
claims did not outweigh the “substantial” public interest in the
material, though it suspended its decision until Aug. 3 to allow the
former chief executive to consider additional action.
Following his vice presidency, Biden met multiple times with author
Mark Zwonitzer, who ghostwrote Biden’s 2017 memoir “Promise Me Dad.”
Iran executes two young men for offering help to fleeing anti-regime protesters
Iran ruthlessly executed two young men on Sunday — for helping
terrified protesters flee the regime’s brutal security forces during
the widespread demonstrations earlier this year.
Erfan Esfandiari, 18, and Gol-Mohammad Mohammadi, a 23-year-old Afghan
refugee, were hanged on Sunday for sheltering demonstrators from
government bullets and offering them refuge inside their homes, Masih
Alinejad, an Iranian-American journalist and activist, wrote for the
Free Press, citing local reports.
The pair are among the 59 men arrested together during the January
protests in Shahid Alikhani Square in Isfahan, during which Iranian
officials say four security force members were killed.
Israel believes Iran moved nuclear material inside notorious ‘Pickaxe Mountain’ site last year: report
Israeli intelligence officials believe Iran moved thousands of
centrifuges used to enrich uranium deep inside the so-called “Pickaxe
Mountain” site this past fall, raising fears that the Islamic Republic
can quickly reconstitute its nuclear program.
The intelligence has been passed to the US, the Wall Street Journal
reported Tuesday, though it is unclear what, if any, action will come
from it.
In an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt last week,
President Trump called Pickaxe Mountain “a possible target for a nice,
big, fat shot right in the front door. And I think that you’ll — maybe
you’ll see that.”
The deeply buried installation is just minutes from the Natanz nuclear
facility, one of three hit by US airstrikes in June 2025. The Wall
Street Journal, citing experts, reported that the complex is between
300 and 450 feet beneath solid rock, with enough room to accommodate
several nuclear-related facilities.
CNN legal analyst calls out 'utterly ridiculous' claim by Mamdani about Netanyahu arrest
Elie Honig called the NYC mayor's
suggestion 'utterly ridiculous,' noting the ICC warrant has no legal
effect in the United States
CNN legal analyst Elie Honig called out New York City Mayor Zohran
Mamdani on Monday for saying he was looking at whether the city's
authorities could arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if
he visits.
"So, Elie, give us a reality check here. Can Mamdani have Netanyahu arrested?" CNN's Brianna Keilar asked Honig.
"Absolutely not. It is utterly ridiculous for the mayor of New York
City to even suggest that he might have the authority to order the
arrest of Benjamin Netanyahu or any visiting foreign head of state.
First of all, the mayor of New York City has zero law enforcement
authority. He does not tell the Manhattan D.A., the NYPD, who to
arrest, who to indict," Honig responded.
WH Courts Tillis, Cornyn on Blanche Confirmation
The Trump administration is lobbying Sens. Thom Tillis of North
Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas in a bid to salvage attorney general
nominee Todd Blanche's confirmation as the two outgoing Republicans
withhold support over concerns about a controversial Justice Department
settlement tied to President Donald Trump, Politico reported Tuesday.
With Republicans holding only a narrow margin on the Senate Judiciary
Committee, a single GOP defection could derail Blanche's nomination
before it reaches the Senate floor, giving Tillis and Cornyn unusual
leverage despite both having fallen out of favor with Trump in recent
months.
The administration has been in direct contact with aides to both
senators in an effort to address their concerns, according to the
lawmakers and a White House official.
Journey rocker slams Bruce Springsteen as ‘annoying, bitter old man’ for political rants at concerts
Journey rockstar Jonathan Cain ripped fellow musician Bruce Springsteen
as an “annoying, bitter old man” for using his concerts to lecture fans
about President Trump.
“I used to be a Democrat back in the old days, but I just couldn’t go
there anymore, you know?” Cain, 76, opined in an appearance on the
“Complete Disaster Network” podcast, according to Variety.
“I’m a diehard conservative… And guys like Bruce Springsteen should
shut up. You know, really, honestly, shut up, Bruce, you know? Him and
who’s the other one? Robert DeNiro. I mean, who cares, guys?… Do your
art. I try to keep politics out of my music,” said the “Don’t Stop
Believin'” musician during the May interview.
The 76-year-old “Born to Run” rocker blasted the Trump administration
as “reckless and treasonous” as he kicked off “Land of Hope &
Dreams American Tour” in Minnesota earlier this year.
Lindsey Graham to Lie in State at Capitol Rotunda
The late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., will lie in state in the Capitol
Rotunda next Tuesday before services at both the Washington National
Cathedral and the senator's Baptist church in South Carolina.
Funeral arrangements released Tuesday by Graham's office outline a
two-day tribute honoring the late senator's more than three decades of
military and congressional service.
The Washington ceremonies will begin July 28 with an arrival ceremony
at the U.S. Capitol, where Graham's remains will be carried into the
Rotunda by an Armed Forces Body Bearer Team in recognition of his
decades in the Air Force.
America is winning its battle with Iran. It’s only a matter of time
Victory will only be achieved when the Islamic Republic is forced to accept reality
By Hugh Hewitt
In the four months and three weeks since combat began with Iran, the
United States has lost 17 or 18 of its warriors (with three or four
killed over last weekend), with more than 420 others wounded.
Sixty Israelis have been killed. More than 100 Iraqis have died as a
result of the conflict. Our allies in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates have all suffered civilian deaths and every
country in the region has taken significant damage to its
infrastructure.
Iran has suffered military deaths in the thousands with many hundreds
of civilians killed as well. The toll on the country’s infrastructure
is massive — exponentially larger than that which it has inflicted on
its neighbors in the region — with the highest estimates in the
hundreds of billions of dollars. Iran’s conventional military has been
shattered. Its missile and drone forces have been significantly damaged
or expended. It is far, however, from being out of ordnance with which
to threaten shipping in the Strait of Hormuz or its neighbors.
Iran has avoided striking Israel during the most recent 10 days of
combat as it fears the response of the Israeli Defense Forces. That is
deterrence restored. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard is afraid to
strike the Jewish State. Now it must be made afraid to shoot at
Americans or at its Arab neighbors or international shipping.
The Trump economy is doing better than the media want to admit
CNBC survey shows 61% of the public remains pessimistic about the economy despite strong spending and wage data
By Liz Peek
President Donald Trump has a good story to tell on the economy; he
should be telling it, because it’s a sure bet the liberal media will
not.
Consider the big picture: unemployment is low, real wages are rising,
the stock market is high, investment is booming and inflation, though
above the Federal Reserve’s target, came down last month, and will
recede again once oil prices stabilize. (Inflation, most recently at
3.5%, and at 2.6% excluding volatile food and energy, is also
significantly below the 4.95% recorded on average under President Joe
Biden.)
More good news: the conservative Committee to Unleash Prosperity
reports that during the first 16 months of Trump’s current term, real
incomes for the lowest 25% of earners increased almost $2,100, while
they actually shrank under Biden.
Additionally, the Bank of America Institute writes that "total credit
and debit card spending rising 6.3% year-over-year (YoY) in June - the
strongest growth in over four years." Importantly, the Institute
further reports that "gaps in wage and spending growth across income
groups narrowed."
