- Tuesday May 12th, 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: No Need to Rush Anything With Iran
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the U.S. doesn't "have to rush
anything" with Iran, which cannot be allowed to develop a nuclear
weapon "because they'd use it."
Speaking during a wide-ranging appearance on WABC's "Sid & Friends
in the Morning," Trump said the Iranian regime has been militarily
crippled and insisted his administration remains firmly committed to
preventing Tehran from obtaining nuclear capability.
"We cannot let them have a nuclear weapon because they'd use it," Trump
told host Sid Rosenberg. "And if that goes off, you want to see a
travesty. That would be unbelievable."
Trump argued the U.S. and its allies have already dealt devastating blows to Iran's military infrastructure.
Qatar warns Iran not to use Strait of Hormuz as weapon to 'pressure or to blackmail' Gulf countries
Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said Tuesday
that Iran should "not use" the Strait of Hormuz as "a weapon to
pressure or to blackmail the Gulf countries."
He made the remark while speaking alongside Turkish Foreign Minister
Hakan Fidan, adding that the standoff in the key waterway is having
economic impacts on countries in the region, according to Gulf News.
The comment comes after Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Qatar’s prime minister on Saturday.
The State Department said the two “discussed U.S. support for Qatar’s
defense, and the importance of continued close coordination to deter
threats and promote stability and security across the Middle East.”
Report: Pakistan Allowed Iran to Shelter Aircraft
Unnamed U.S. administration sources told CBS News that Iran
moved some military aircraft into Pakistan during the conflict with the
United States, allegedly to shield them from possible American strikes,
but Pakistani and Taliban representatives rejected the claims.
The report said Iran sent several aircraft to a Pakistani military
airfield after President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire in early
April, including what the sources described as a reconnaissance
aircraft.
The sources also claimed Iran moved at least one civilian aircraft into
neighboring Afghanistan after Iranian airspace was closed during the
fighting.
Senate weighs new, painful leverage tactic as fears of another government shutdown grow
The resolution is one of several measures aimed at stopping shutdowns or creating leverage against them
The Senate will soon decide whether lawmakers should be paid during
another government shutdown as the specter of more closures looms
large.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., teed up a vote on a measure
that would prevent senators from being paid during a government
shutdown, a political option of last resort that has now become
commonplace in the midst of President Donald Trump’s second term.
The resolution from Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., is straightforward: if
there is another shutdown, he and his colleagues won’t get paid. It’s
one of several resolutions and bills tossed around by lawmakers to find
a way to stop shutdowns, or at least find a leverage point against
them.
Pentagon’s declassified UAP footage fuels Americans' belief in aliens: ‘We’re not alone'
Tens of millions of documents are being reviewed for release, the White House says
Newly declassified footage released by the Pentagon is fueling
Americans' belief that alien life exists, with attendees at an AI event
telling Fox News Digital the videos add weight to long-held suspicions.
The release, part of President Donald Trump’s push to increase
transparency around Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs), includes
never-before-seen clips and documents that have intensified public
interest in such objects and renewed scrutiny over how much the
government has kept hidden.
"I think the transparency is great — that we’re finally hearing
information that they, obviously, have known for a while," one
respondent said.
Fetterman weighs in after PA Supreme Court justice apparently splits from Democratic Party over antisemitism
'As I’ve affirmed, I’m not changing my party — but I fully understand David’s personal choice,' Sen John Fetterman noted
After a Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice appeared to indicate that he
had ditched the Democratic Party, declaring in a statement that he is
"no longer registered within any political party," U.S. Sen. John
Fetterman, D-Pa., noted that he understood the man's decision.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice David Wecht, who ran as a Democrat
when he was elected in 2015, indicated that the Democratic Party has an
issue with antisemitism.
"From 1998 to 2001, years that preceded my judicial career, I served as
Vice-Chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. In the quarter century
that has passed since then, the Democratic Party has changed. Nazi
tattoos, jihadist chants, intimidation and attacks at synagogues, and
other hateful anti-Jewish invective and actions are minimized, ignored,
and even coddled. Acquiescence to Jew-hatred is now disturbingly common
among activists, leaders and even many elected officials in the
Democratic Party," he asserted in part of his statement, which Fox News
Digital obtained.
Dali ship operator, foreign employee charged in Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, unsealed indictment shows
Synergy Marine and technical superintendent Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair face conspiracy and obstruction charges
Federal officials announced Tuesday that criminal charges have been
brought against the Singaporean operator and an employee of the
container ship that downed Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge more
than two years ago.
The indictment, filed on April 8, names Synergy Marine Pte Ltd, based
in Singapore, Synergy Maritime Pte Ltd, based in India, and technical
superintendent Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, an Indian national, as
defendants in the case.
Both companies and Nair are charged with conspiracy to defraud the
United States, willfully failing to immediately inform the U.S. Coast
Guard of a known hazardous condition, obstruction of an agency
proceeding and false statements.
Automatic tipping push brings concerns to major US city as restaurants brace for surge of foreign visitors
Temporary measure is sensible, say experts, who also warn of backlash from diners already feeling squeezed
As Europeans prepare to visit the U.S. for the World Cup, Missouri
restaurant officials are proposing a controversial solution in the form
of automatic tipping.
With Kansas City set to host six matches during the tournament,
industry officials are urging restaurants to consider automatic
gratuities to ensure that workers get paid, according to the Kansas
City Beacon.
Mike Burris, executive director of the Missouri Restaurant Association
(MRA), told the Beacon that local restaurants and bars are expected to
generate between $60 million and $90 million during the World Cup.
But many international tourists will arrive with different cultural expectations around tipping and service.
Virginia Democrats flub petition to Supreme Court with wrong address
Days after producing a Supreme Court motion riddled with typos in their
bid to reinstate a gerrymandered congressional map, Virginia Democrats
filed a new motion to the high court — this time with an even bigger
mistake.
Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme
Court to set aside the state Supreme Court ruling last week that struck
down the Democrats’ map because the legislature broke procedural rules
in rushing it to voters.
The emergency motion, however, was erroneously addressed to the Supreme Court of Virginia.
Iran war to overshadow talks on trade, Taiwan at historic Trump-XI meeting
President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping have a lot on their plate when they meet this week in Beijing.
The leaders of the world’s reigning superpowers will spend two days
hammering out details of a new trade pact, extending a critical
minerals deal and discussing artificial intelligence risks, nuclear
weapons and a potential $14 billion U.S. weapons package for Taiwan.
Looming over all those discussions is the Iran war, which has caused
the Trump-Xi summit to be postponed once. The leaders have much to gain
from each other when it comes to the Iran war, which has left both men
in much weaker positions than they were before it started roughly 10
weeks ago.
Senate Confirms Warsh to Fed Board, Fed Chair Vote Likely Wednesday
The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Kevin Warsh to a 14-year term as
Federal Reserve governor, marking an important step toward his
succeeding Jerome Powell as the U.S. central bank's next leader.
Here are some details and context:
* The Senate is expected to immediately
start the confirmation process for Warsh's concurrent four-year term as
Fed chair, holding a so-called cloture vote that starts a countdown
toward approving him for the leadership post as soon as Wednesday.
Powell's term as chair ends on Friday.
* A lawyer, financier, and former Fed governor, Warsh is on course to
lead the Fed at a time when the central bank's political independence
is being tested by pressure from the administration to deliver the
interest-rate cuts demanded by President Donald Trump.
* Powell plans to take the unusual step of staying on as governor
after his chair term ends, in response to the "series of legal attacks
on the Fed which threaten our ability to conduct monetary policy
without considering political factors."
FBI Questions CIA Officers Over Russia Assessment in Brennan Probe
The FBI has begun interviewing current and former CIA employees as part
of a Justice Department investigation into ex-CIA director John
Brennan. The probe focuses on his role in an intelligence finding that
Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. election to help Donald Trump,
according to five sources.
Employees were questioned last week by agents from the Miami field
office at CIA headquarters in McLean, Virginia. Interviews are expected
to continue in the coming weeks, three sources said.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida has
been investigating Brennan for months. Prosecutors are examining
whether he made a false statement to Congress in 2023 regarding a 2017
intelligence assessment on Russian interference.
Iran’s ‘unacceptable’ deal means US must open the Strait of Hormuz by force
By Mark Montgomery
Two days after United States Central Command launched Project Freedom,
a naval operation to escort commercial vessels through the Strait of
Hormuz, President Donald Trump paused the operation.
Trump cited “great progress” toward a potential deal with Iran’s rulers as the reason.
Yet that progress has proven elusive.
While the pause may have been tactically convenient, it was a strategic mistake that sent the wrong message to Tehran.
If the Trump administration is serious about restoring the free flow of
international commerce illegally strangled by the Tehran regime since
the start of hostilities, it should resume and sustain the operation
until Iran agrees to unrestricted transit rights for all shipping
through the Strait of Hormuz.
How Democrats’ rage over Virginia gerrymander exposes their larger contempt for democracy
By Daniel McCarthy
Virginia Democrats are doing an unwitting service to the whole country
— by revealing just how hostile their party is to the most essential
checks and balances.
Democrats violated the state’s constitution by pushing through a referendum to take four House seats away from Republicans.
But when Virginia’s Supreme Court threw out the illegal map, Democrats
didn’t back down: They started thinking of ways to get rid of every
justice on the court, so they could pack it with new ones expressly
picked to return a verdict more favorable to the party.
If the Democrat-controlled Virginia legislature could drop the existing
mandatory judicial retirement age from the current 73 all the way down
to 54, every justice on the bench could be removed and replaced by
compliant partisans.
