Wednesday November 19th, 2025
- "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
My son has narrated the last book I wrote.Please consider listening to it and encouraging others to do so too.(Click HERE)
World & Nation
Iran Ready to Restart Nuclear Talks With Trump
Iran has indicated it is prepared to resume nuclear negotiations with
the United States, with a senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei saying Tehran is open to renewed dialogue if Washington
engages on "equal footing" and respects Iran's longstanding conditions.
Sky News Arabia and Al Arabiya reported that Iran has formally
expressed readiness to resume nuclear talks with the Trump
administration, while IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said the
agency will soon meet with U.S. and Saudi officials regarding regional
nuclear cooperation.
Kamal Kharrazi, one of Khamenei's top foreign policy advisers, told CNN
that Iran will not alter the position it held before U.S. and Israeli
strikes on its nuclear facilities in June.
He stressed that Tehran expects the U.S. to make "the first move"
toward respectful engagement and that any agenda for discussions must
be agreed upon in advance.
NY Times: Trump Clears CIA Covert Ops in Venezuela
President Donald Trump has authorized the CIA to prepare covert
operations inside Venezuela as part of a broader pressure campaign on
the Nicolas Maduro regime, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
According to the Times, Trump signed off on CIA planning for
clandestine measures that officials described as potential
"battlefield-shaping" actions.
The paper reported that while the president has not authorized U.S.
combat troops on the ground, the CIA has been instructed to develop
options that could include sabotage, cyber operations, psychological
campaigns, or other covert tools.
The authorization comes as the U.S. Navy's largest aircraft carrier,
the USS Gerald R. Ford, has moved into the Caribbean as part of what
military planners call Operation Southern Spear — a buildup the Times
notes is the most significant in the region since the Cuban Missile
Crisis.
WSJ Editorial: Heritage 'Lost Way,' George's Resignation Bad Omen
The fallout from Princeton professor Robert P. George's resignation
from the Heritage Foundation's board of trustees intensified this week,
as a Wall Street Journal editorial Tuesday sharply criticized the think
tank's leadership and warned that Heritage is drifting from its
long-standing conservative principles.
George's departure — alongside growing unrest among donors, policy
fellows, and allied organizations — has become a flash point that
underscores deeper ideological and cultural rifts within the
influential institution.
George, a widely respected conservative scholar and moral philosopher,
announced Monday that he could no longer serve on Heritage's board
following what he described as an insufficient corrective response to
President Kevin Roberts' recent comments defending podcaster Tucker
Carlson.
House Dems defy Jeffries, vote to rebuke progressive over controversial election move
Multiple House Democrats defied their party leaders' wishes Tuesday to
vote in favor of rebuking a progressive lawmaker for what critics
called an unfair move to tip the scales in his district's next election.
The House voted to pass a resolution of disapproval against Rep. Jesús
"Chuy" García, a measure that was led by one of his fellow Democrats —
moderate Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash.
Perez accused García of "undermining the process of a free and fair
election" by abruptly changing course on his re-election bid hours
before the filing deadline in his deep-blue Illinois district. Critics
of the move said the timing ensured García's chief of staff was the
only person able to file to run instead.
The division caused a political headache for House Democratic leadership, which opposed the resolution.
The fight over the Democratic Party's future collides with the race to succeed Nancy Pelosi
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s announcement that she would not
seek re-election capped off a decades-long tenure in Congress and the
top echelons of the Democratic Party.
Now, her departure also sets up a clearer picture of the race to be San
Francisco’s next representative in the House — and of how Democrats
want to chart the future of their party at a moment of generational
change.
The two main contenders for Pelosi's district — Scott Wiener, a
California state senator, and Saikat Chakrabarti, the former chief of
staff to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — had already jumped into the
race ahead of Pelosi’s decision.
Others could jump into the California race ahead of next June's
all-party primary, but already the two existing candidates' views
reflect different wings of the Democratic Party.
KT McFarland: Saudis Poised to Join Abraham Accords Soon
Former Deputy National Security Adviser KT McFarland said Wednesday on
Newsmax's "Wake Up America" that Saudi Arabia is on track to eventually
join the Abraham Accords, arguing that it's "only a matter of time"
before the kingdom normalizes diplomatic relations with Israel and
joins the regional framework.
"[The Saudis] were really behind the scenes in President [Donald]
Trump's first term of getting other countries to join," McFarland said.
"They were close to joining themselves at the end of President Trump's
first term and then when President [Joe] Biden came in, he reversed
relationships with Saudi Arabia, he called [Saudi Crown Prince]
Mohammed bin Salman a pariah, et cetera, et cetera.
"At the end, President Biden had to go on bended knee and beg the
Saudis to please produce more oil before the election because oil
prices went skyrocketing," she continued. "But now that President Trump
is back, the Saudis will eventually join."
She said the momentum behind the diplomatic opening traces directly
back to Trump's first term when he took a chance on building a personal
and strategic relationship with bin Salman.
FBI Accused of 'Stonewalling' Congress on Trump Assassination Try
Two House Republicans who helped lead the congressional probe into the
Thomas Matthew Crooks assassination attempt on President Donald Trump
say the FBI "stonewalled" their investigation, and new revelations
about Crooks' alleged violent digital footprint are raising fresh
demands for answers.
Reps. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., and Pat Fallon, R-Texas, told the New York
Post the bureau withheld critical information about Crooks' online
history, even though new reporting shows the would-be assassin posted
extremist content for years under his real name.
"I think there's so many unanswered questions," Kelly told the Post. "They don't want people to handle the truth."
Fallon agreed, saying he doesn't recall ever being shown the violent posts that have now surfaced publicly.
Top US Army Officials in Ukraine for 'Fact-Finding Mission'
A U.S. delegation led by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has arrived in
Kyiv on a "fact-finding mission" and to discuss an end to Ukraine's war
with Russia, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv said Wednesday.
"Secretary Driscoll and team arrived this morning in Kyiv on behalf of
the Trump Administration on a fact-finding mission to meet with
Ukrainian officials and discuss an end to the war," it said in a
statement, citing U.S. Army Chief of Public Affairs Col. Dave Butler.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet two top U.S. army
officials in Kyiv on Thursday, a person familiar with the matter told
Reuters. The officials are Driscoll and Army Chief of Staff General
Randy George, the source said.
Rep. Jordan Refers Jack Smith Attorney for Obstruction
House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan on Wednesday referred Thomas
Windom, former senior assistant special counsel to Jack Smith, to the
Justice Department for potential criminal prosecution, accusing the
veteran prosecutor of obstructing a congressional inquiry by refusing
to answer questions in a Sept. 30 deposition.
In a letter dated Nov. 19, 2025, Jordan told Attorney General Pam Bondi
that Windom's conduct "obstructed a congressional investigation,"
citing his repeated refusals to provide information despite receiving
written authorization from the Department of Justice to speak freely
with investigators.
According to the letter, Windom "declined to answer nearly every single
one of the Committee's questions, citing various and shifting
justifications," even though DOJ twice authorized him to provide
"unrestricted testimony to the Committee, irrespective of potential
privilege."
Mamdani keeps Jessica Tisch as NYPD commissioner
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is keeping Jessica Tisch as commissioner of the New York City Police Department.
"Today, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani announced the appointment of
Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch to serve as the New York City Police
Commissioner in his incoming administration," Mamdani's office said in
a statement on Wednesday, adding that the pair will "advance a
coordinated approach to public safety built on partnership and shared
purpose."
"That includes ensuring police officers remain focused on serious and
violent crime, while strengthening the city’s response to issues like
homelessness and mental health. A new Department of Community Safety
will support this work while collaborating closely with the NYPD," the
office added.
"As the 48th Commissioner of New York City Police Department,
Commissioner Tisch has rooted out corruption in the upper echelons of
the NYPD and led a department-wide focus on accountability and
transparency, while delivering historic reductions in violent crime,"
it also said.
In his own statement, Mamdani said, "I look forward to working with
Commissioner Jessica Tisch to deliver genuine public safety in New York
City.
130 Democrat congressional representatives urge SCOTUS to side with trans athlete in Title IX legal battle
The list of signees include Reps Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Ilhan Omar
A coalition of 130 congressional Democrats filed an amicus brief to the
Supreme Court urging it to rule in favor of two trans athletes in
forthcoming cases over the protection of women's sports and national
enforcement of Title IX.
The coalition, which includes nine senators and 121 House members, is
led by Congressional Equality Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Becca Balint,
D-V.t., Democratic Women’s Caucus Chair Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández,
D-N.M., and Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii.
The list of signees features prominent figures on the party's left
wing, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Ilhan Omar,
D-Minn. The list also includes House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries
and Rep. Nancy Pelosi. The list does not include noted moderate Sen.
John Fetterman, D-Pa., or Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Get your popcorn for the Democratic Socialist civil war over Chi Ossé’s bid to unseat Rep. Hakeem Jeffries
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is right: Far-left City Councilman Chi
Ossé’s bid to unseat House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is not “a
good idea.”
Per Post sources, the privileged Brooklyn radical launched this
challenge against the explicit objections of Mayor-elect Zohran
Mamdani, who’s focused on pursuing his agenda — not a Democratic civil
war.
Ossé is an opportunistic twit who quit the local Democratic Socialists
of America chapter years ago, saying he was “not aligned with the
organization itself” . . . but recently rejoined after Mamdani showed
what a force the DSA can be.
Democrats Try to Link Trump Criminally to Epstein and Fail
The 2011 exchange between the late Jeffrey Epstein and longtime gal pal
Ghislaine Maxwell, now serving a 20-year sentence for conspiring with
Epstein to traffic minors, was short and grammatically incorrect.
Epstein wrote, "i want you to realize that the dog that hasn't barked
is trump. VICTIM (name redacted) spent hours at my house with him ,, he
has never once been mentioned."
Epstein's anger at Trump did not abate, since their friendship ended years before.
In a 2019 email to a journalist, Epstein wrote of Trump, "of course he knew about the girls as he asked ghislaine to stop."
