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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's threat to Iran that 'there will be bombing' comes amid new B-2 stealth bomber moves  President Donald Trump is threatening Iran with bombing to get to a new nuclear deal. The threat comes as the US appears to be massing B-2 stealth bombers at a strategic base in the Indian Ocean that has been used to stage strikes in the Middle East. "If they don't make a deal, there will be bombing," Trump told NBC News' Kristen Welker over the weekend, adding that "it will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before." Trump Says He Will Be 'Kind' With Tariffs as Deadline Looms  U.S. trading partners were bracing Tuesday for an expected fresh raft of Donald Trump tariffs, while the president promised to be "very kind" in addressing what he says are unfair trade imbalances. Trump — who has been making unprecedented use of presidential powers since taking office in January — said he could announce as early as Tuesday night exactly what "reciprocal tariffs" will be imposed. The Republican billionaire said that action is needed because the world's biggest economy has been "ripped off by every country in the world," and is promising "Liberation Day" for the United States.
Red state moves to defund county after leader vows to ‘interfere and interrupt’ ICE deportations  Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is suing to defund an entire county after its leading law enforcement authority vowed to "make every effort to block, interfere and interrupt" deportation operations based on ICE detainers, which he called unconstitutional. This comes amid the Trump administration's concerted whole-of-government approach to cracking down on illegal immigration and migrant crime in the United States. Bird, a Republican, argues that the sheriff’s self-proclaimed "longtime" stance of interrupting immigration enforcement operations based on detainers "impeded and discouraged cooperation with federal immigration authorities in violation of Iowa law." Pete Hegseth orders major overhaul of US military standards for women  Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the military to make fitness standards for all combat jobs gender neutral, angering many women who saw it as unfair. In a new memo, Hegseth told leaders of the military services to distinguish which jobs are considered combat arms - such as special operations or infantry, and require 'heightened entry level and sustained physical fitness' - and which are not. The memo released Monday said all physical fitness requirements for those combat arms positions must be gender neutral, 'based solely on the operational demands of the occupation and the readiness needed to confront any adversary.' Hegseth introduced the new standards in an X post, writing: 'For far too long, we have allowed standards to slip. We've had different standards for men/women serving in combat arms MOS's and jobs…. That's not acceptable, and it changes right now!' How Democrats’ $10 Trillion Plan Collapsed  Former Reps. Cori Bush (D-MO) and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) recently discussed the failure of the Build Back Better (BBB) Act on their podcast. Initially proposed as a $10 trillion spending package, the plan sought to fund universal childcare, affordable housing, climate projects, and the child tax credit. The proposal was eventually reduced to less than $2 trillion and failed due to centrist opposition. Bush and Bowman described their attempts to delay President Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill to push for a simultaneous vote on BBB. Despite their efforts, the infrastructure bill passed separately, and the BBB Act was abandoned. Bush said, "We wanted to make sure that the climate investment was there because many of the groups were saying this isn’t enough on climate… so I was getting attacked for not asking for more." Backlash at HHS delays plan to slash 10,000 jobs, Politico reports  The plan to cut 10,000 jobs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was abruptly delayed amid growing backlash over its execution by Brad Smith, the Department of Government Efficiency lead at HHS, Politico reported on Monday, citing two officials. The secretive approach of Smith, who has ties with one HHS agency, was at the center of the controversy. He attempted to exempt this agency from the workforce reduction process, the report added. Last week, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced plans to overhaul federal public health agencies, including eliminating 10,000 jobs and consolidating certain functions of the FDA, CDC and other agencies under his authority. Maine refusal to ban trans athletes headed to Justice Department  After Maine refused to comply with an executive order banning transgender athletes, the Trump administration is headed to court over the dispute. Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, has not only refused to comply with the ban, but she has also refused to apologize to President Donald Trump. The Department of Health and Human Services will refer the situation to the Department of Justice, saying Maine is in noncompliance with Title IX, and the department should enforce the executive order in court. The Office of Civil Rights for HHS gave the Maine Principals Association and Greely High School 10 days to enter into an agreement banning trans women from women’s sports or the case will be sent to the DOJ. Hezbollah Official Among Four Dead in Israeli Strike on Beirut  A Hezbollah official was among four people killed Tuesday in an Israeli strike on south Beirut, Israel a Hezbollah source said, the second such raid during a fragile four-month ceasefire. Lebanon's leaders condemned the attack, which came without warning at around 3:30 am during the Eid al-Fitr Muslim holiday marking the end of the Ramadan fasting period. It struck after Israel on Friday raided Beirut's southern suburbs — a stronghold of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah armed group — after issuing an evacuation warning.
Trump's Pick for Joint Chiefs Chairman Strikes Humble, Apolitical Tone in Senate Hearing  President Donald Trump's nominee to become the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan "Razin" Caine, told senators Tuesday that he understands he is an unknown and unconventional nominee — but that the U.S. is facing unconventional and unprecedented threats and he is ready to serve in its defense. Caine faced questions during his confirmation hearing about his qualifications to become the top U.S. military officer. Caine is a decorated F-16 combat pilot who served in leadership in multiple special operations commands and in some of the Pentagon's most classified programs. He does not, however, meet the prerequisites for Joint Chiefs chairman, although they can be waived by the president. Luigi Mangione should face death penalty for ‘cold-blooded assassination’ of UnitedHealthcare CEO, Pam Bondi orders  The federal government will seek the death penalty against Luigi Mangione for his alleged cold-blooded assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan, US Attorney General Pam Bondi said Tuesday. “Luigi Mangione’s murder of Brian Thompson — an innocent man and father of two young children — was a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America,” Bondi wrote in a statement. “After careful consideration, I have directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in this case as we carry out President Trump’s agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again.” The 26-year-old alleged assassin is charged by prosecutors in both Manhattan federal and state court with the brazen killing. Fresh proof that Trump is right on Chinese control of the strategic Panama Canal China’s efforts to stop the sale of a company that manages Panama Canal ports is proving President Trump dead right about the strategically vital waterway. Trump & Co. warn that Beijing’s pressure on Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison, which operates two of the ports, could wind up blocking US military and commercial shipping through the canal in the event of a US-China conflict. China's hold-up of the sale of Panama Canal ports Such a national security threat puts the United States (and the West) in an untenable position, so the prez vowed to “take back” control of the canal. Hutchison then moved to sell its canal operations to a group led by US-based BlackRock — a win for Trump — in a deal that was to be signed Wednesday. The Best and Brightest 2.0 It’s been 55 years since 1.0 came out, a book that began the collapse of journalism In 1997, David Halberstam published a 25th anniversary edition of his 1972 best-seller, "The Best and the Brightest," he penned a new introduction for it and he did not hold back on whom he thought was the real best of brightest: himself. The book had indeed done well in the year of Richard Nixon’s landslide, a quarter-century earlier before the new preface appeared. Halberstam takes pains to tells us so. The original hardcover had sold 60,000 copies in its first two weeks, 180,000 in hardcover total, and 1.5 million paperback copies. That is indeed a "big book." It is also literally a big book at 800+ pages. Its impact was even bigger. The self-regard of the author for himself and his work is so very explicit that it is suffused in every paragraph of the introduction. It’s worth the $25 just to listen to those 40 minutes, but the whole thing is transfixing, a time capsule of sorts. The book isn’t read much now. It ought to be, and not because of the ambitions of DOGE —which genuinely does look like "the best and brightest" of the tech world. |
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