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 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 Trump vows to retaliate against Iran after revealing US AH-64 Apache helicopter was shot down over Strait of Hormuz  President Trump confirmed Tuesday that Iran shot down the American Apache attack helicopter that crashed near the Strait of Hormuz, vowing to respond to Tehran’s latest act of aggression. “I have just been informed by our Great Military that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured. Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack,” he added. Trump says Iran responsible for shooting down Apache helicopter, says US must respond  President Donald Trump blamed Iran for shooting down a U.S. Apache helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz on Monday night, vowing to respond in a Tuesday post on Truth Social. "I have just been informed by our Great Military that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz. There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured," Trump wrote. "Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Trump concluded. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced a historic rescue mission for the helicopter pilots Tuesday morning, while officials confirmed to Fox News that the downed pilots were rescued using an Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) sea drone in a first-of-its-kind mission. Energy Secretary: Hormuz Ship Traffic Rising 'Very Meaningfully'  Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Tuesday that ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is rising "very meaningfully" as the conflict with Iran continues. "I would say rising very meaningfully," Wright said when asked how ship traffic is flowing through the Strait compared to a week or two ago. Wright made the remarks during an Atlantic Council conference and added that it would take many months to get back to normal flows of energy once the war is over. Vessel movements on the strait have been largely blocked since U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February, interrupting around 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.
Ukraine war latest: Russia issues nuclear weapon threat to NATO  Russia has issued a nuclear weapon threat "to ensure security" in response to Nato strengthening its eastern flank. Russian deputy foreign minister Mikhail Galuzin has said Russia and Belarus are constantly ready to use all available means, including nuclear weapons. Nato yesterday announced that its Forward Land Forces (FLF) Finland, including the Alliance’s newest multinational battlegroup, led by framework nation Sweden, began operations in Finland and Sweden to support the defence of Nato’s northeastern flank. "We remain in a constant state of readiness to employ all means, including nuclear ones, to ensure the security of the Union State," Mr Galuzin said, referring to the political, security and economic alliance between Russia and Belarus. CBS News boss Bari Weiss poised to oversee CNN editorial operations: report  CBS News boss Bari Weiss is likely to gain editorial oversight of CNN if and when Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery is approved, according to a report. Paramount executives are said to have held preliminary discussions with several candidates who would come in and run the business-side operations next to Weiss while she continues to oversee editorial. The company is considering several big names, including current CNN CEO Mark Thompson, NBCUniversal News Group chairman Cesar Conde and former NBC News chief Noah Oppenheim, Axios reported. CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss could see her influence expand significantly once the Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery merger is approved, according to a report. Ex-Epstein assistant Lesley Groff needed a two-person escort to face grilling before the House  Lesley Groff, a longtime personal assistant to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, needed to be physically supported as she appeared Tuesday on Capitol Hill for an interview with House lawmakers. Groff seemed visibly emotional as she entered the Oversight hearing room with lawmakers and staff, propped up on either side by a man and a woman who were walking with her — and later noted in the interview that the “scarlet letter” she bears to this day is her links to the 2008 plea agreement that kept Epstein from being federally prosecuted. A source familiar with Groff’s interview told The Post that she worked for Epstein from 2001 until resigning after his arrest on sex trafficking charges in 2019, but saw their relationship as being “strictly business” for a man she had believed to be a wealth manager for Victoria’s Secret owner Lex Wexner, the Rothschilds and others. US Navy uses cutting-edge new drone boat to rescue Apache pilots who crashed near Strait of Hormuz  A US drone boat conducted a first-of-its-kind rescue mission to save the crew of an American Apache helicopter that crashed near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, the military said. The unmanned vessel, powered by artificial intelligence, located the crew who had been stuck for two hours in the waters off the coast of Oman, bringing them to shore, the Wall Street Journal reported. The operation marks the first time a high-tech US Navy drone deployed to the Middle East was used to conduct a rescue mission. The military is currently investigating if the helicopter was shot down by Iranian forces as tensions remain high along the Strait of Hormuz. Bombshell claims by former campaign director rock Platner’s campaign hours before polls open Genevieve McDonald wrote in an op-ed that she was one of the 'first gaslighting casualties' of Platner's campaign  Graham Platner shouldn't be elected to represent Maine in the U.S. Senate, a former high-level staffer for the embattled Democratic candidate told voters just hours before polls opened in the state's Tuesday primary. Genevieve McDonald, once a Maine state representative who worked briefly as Platner's campaign director last year, warned in an op/ed in The Washington Post on Monday evening: "Graham Platner is not someone who would be good for Maine or for the country." While she overlooked his Nazi-linked tattoo and possible cheating scandal, McDonald said in the piece titled "I know firsthand why Graham Platner shouldn't be a U.S. senator" that she couldn't ignore how "he exhibits a pattern of dishonest behavior," and ultimately quit the campaign after just two months. Trump's SAVE America Act shows signs of life in the Senate despite Republican revolt A late-night Senate vote breathed new life into Trump's SAVE America Act, despite being blocked by filibuster  Senate Republicans have struggled to move the ball on President Donald Trump's voter ID and citizenship verification bill, but a late-night vote in the upper chamber breathed some life into an issue once thought dead. During the Senate’s marathon "vote-a-rama" to advance the GOP’s $70 billion immigration enforcement package, Republicans tried twice to attach the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act to the massive bill. They failed both times, with a cohort of Republicans joining Senate Democrats to stymie the effort, which was destined to fail either way given that the amendments from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, had to break through the filibuster. Texas’ largest school district sees test scores soar after state takeover despite racism claims A-rated and B-rated campuses more than doubled from 93 to 197 across the school system since 2023  The Houston Independent School District (HISD), the largest school system in Texas, has seen dramatic improvements in student grades and test scores across its more than 270 campuses in the years since a state takeover. The sweeping intervention followed years of academic underperformance and drew ongoing accusations of racism and unfairness. Across the district's elementary and middle schools, students in grades 3 through 8 showed substantial improvements in reading and math scores on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) tests in the three school years since the Texas Education Agency (TEA) took control. Furthermore, students in HISD high schools made significant year-over-year improvements from 2023 to 2026 in algebra, English, biology and U.S. history, effectively narrowing performance gaps compared to state averages, according to data provided to Fox News Digital. Johnson to Raise GOP Pulte Concerns With Trump  House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., reportedly will suggest to President Donald Trump that he choose a different nominee than Bill Pulte to fill the director of national intelligence role permanently. The recommendation comes as Democrats threaten to block reauthorization of a key foreign surveillance program unless Pulte, a close Trump ally with no national security background, is removed from his temporary post as acting director of national intelligence. According to Politico, congressional Democrats have united around a demand that Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act not be renewed while Pulte remains in charge of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
NRCC Chair: Trump Deeply Cares About Midterms, Americans  President Donald Trump "cares deeply" about the midterms and what Americans are enduring while he focuses on securing a deal with Iran, National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Richard Hudson, R-N.C., said Tuesday. Hudson pushed back on media interpretations of Trump's recent comments about the 2026 midterm elections, arguing that critics have taken the president's remarks out of context as he works to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and stabilize a volatile Middle East. Speaking at Axios' AM Live event, Hudson said Trump's statement that he does not "care about the midterms" was directed at Iran's belief that domestic political pressure would force him to back down during negotiations. Vance Refers Minnesota Gov. Walz, AG to DOJ for Fraud Probe  Vice President JD Vance referred Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison to the Justice Department for a criminal fraud investigation involving social services programs. "Minnesota state officials are not above the law, and if they facilitated fraud, lied under oath about what they knew, or harassed and intimidated whistleblowers, they must face justice," Vance wrote Monday on X. Vance said the referral was prompted by a letter and report from the Republican-led House Oversight Committee, reports NBC News.
EU Proposes 21st Package of Sanctions Against Russia, Targeting Banks  The EU has proposed a 21st package of sanctions against Russia for its war in Ukraine, heavily targeting the country's banks and crypto networks as well as drone production, oil traders and refiners, EU chief diplomat Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday. The new package will propose listing 170 individuals and entities. These include close to 90 banks - the biggest in one go - and would take the total number of listed banks to over 100, or more than half of Russia's 213 internationally connected lenders. The banks will come under the full weight of EU sanctions including asset freezes, travel and transaction bans. The package will be presented to EU ambassadors on Wednesday for negotiations. Sanctions require unanimity to be adopted. The countryside versus the capitol part I The beltway versus the rest of the country By Hugh Hewitt
Who can handle "the pressure?" The new film "Pressure" is an accurate retelling of the fateful days leading up to the Allies’ invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. The success of the D-Day landings were far from a forgone conclusion either as to the date of their launch or its chances of success. Then General Dwight "Ike" Eisenhower had to make the decision to "go-no go" in the early days of June 82 years ago, and the pressure on "Ike" was enormous and unrelenting. Tens of thousands of soldiers’ lives hung in the balance, as did the fate of millions under Hitler’s evil rule. The film provides a superb lesson on such moments and Ike’s (played by Brendan Fraser) willingness to make the final decision amidst the uncertainties of weather and Wermacht deployments is a testament to the granite from which he was made. California proves voters get the government they tolerate One-party dominance has created passive voters who expect little from government and receive even less By Jonathan Turley
This week, the nation watched as California grappled again with the ordinarily straightforward task of counting votes in an election. While large states such as Florida declare election winners within 24 hours, California may take up to two weeks to count all the votes. Even Los Angeles cannot count its votes in the time of large states despite giving the Clerk an annual budget of $336 million and a $448,179 a year salary with the help of 1,100 budgeted positions. In most states, voters would be outraged by the incompetence, waste and inefficiency. However, in the Golden State, voters shrug, as if they can demand no more from their elected officials than subpar performance. Call it the Politics of Low Expectations and California is the model for the nation. |
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