- Friday August 28th, 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
Iran claims US is unleashing 'economic terrorism' with new sanctions, urges countries to not comply
Iran’s Foreign Ministry released a statement claiming the Trump
administration is launching “a new wave of economic terrorism” against
Iran under Operation Economic Outcast.
“Economic sanctions by the United States against Iran, regardless of
their name or title, are completely illegal and illegitimate actions
that violate the United Nations Charter, international humanitarian
law, and human rights,” the statement read. “On this basis, all
countries are obligated to refrain from implementing such sanctions.”
“In continuation of its hostile and illegal policies against Iran, the
U.S. government unveiled a new wave of economic terrorism under the
title ‘Operation Economic Outcast’ against Iran on Monday... which
amounts to U.S. state terrorism against Iran and the world,” the
statement added.
“While condemning U.S. economic terrorism, the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs emphasizes the determination of the Iranian nation to utilize
all capacities to defend the homeland against military, economic, and
hybrid aggression,” it also said.
US Gains Upper Hand in Battle for Hormuz
The U.S. military has steadily eroded Iran's grip on the Strait of
Hormuz, reopening key shipping lanes and gaining the upper hand in the
battle over the critical energy choke point, Axios reported Friday.
U.S. officials told Axios that Iran's ability to disrupt shipping has
been sharply reduced after weeks of American airstrikes, mine-clearing
operations, and military escorts through the strait.
"That sucker is open. The Iranian response is very mild. They don't
want us to go back at them," President Donald Trump told Axios on
Thursday.
Senior Trump Aides Kept Out of Loop on Ratcliffe's Moscow Trip
CIA Director John Ratcliffe quietly traveled to Moscow this
week on a mission personally ordered by President Donald Trump,
delivering warnings to senior Russian officials about NATO while
pressing the Kremlin on Ukraine and Iran, The Wall Street Journal
reported.
The mission was so clandestine that some senior White House officials
and military leaders who ordinarily would have been briefed were
unaware of it beforehand, according to U.S. officials who spoke with
the outlet.
Ratcliffe flew from Latvia to Moscow aboard an unmarked U.S. C-17 military cargo plane.
Trump admin blocks more than $1.6B in potentially improper Medicare lab payments, agency says
CMS says 157 lab providers removed from Medicare for allegedly billing for tests never performed or not medically necessary
Federal officials have blocked or clawed back more than $1.6 billion in
potentially improper Medicare laboratory payments since President
Donald Trump returned to office, including $732 million tied to 157 lab
providers booted from the program for alleged fraud.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said the labs were
suspected of billing Medicare for tests that were never performed,
tests patients did not need and services billed at higher rates than
they should have been.
"When laboratories bill Medicare for tests they never performed, it
drains the Medicare Trust Fund and diverts resources away from
beneficiaries who need them," CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said.
In one case, the owner of a consulting company enrolled 14 labs in
Medicare and billed the program more than $24 million, even though CMS
said none of the labs appeared to be operating.
'Everything but the kitchen sink': Russia just attacked Ukraine with 258 drones, ballistic missiles, and even cruise missiles
On Thursday, Russia launched a massive aerial attack on Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia fired some 258 drones toward cities,
ports and industrial sites.
They estimated that one-third of the drones were jet-powered, and that
Russia also used a pair of Oniks ship-killers, Iskander-M/KN-23
ballistic missiles, and Banderol cruise missiles.
Ukrainian forces said they shot down or suppressed 222 drones, seven ballistic missiles, three Banderols and one Oniks missile.
“Overnight, Russia carried out a massive strike against Ukraine,
targeting ports, grain storage, energy, industry and other
infrastructure,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said, adding
that ballistic and hypersonic missiles were used.
Barron Trump lives ‘reclusive’ life amid threats from Iran, assassination attempts on his dad, murder of Charlie Kirk
First son Barron Trump keeps a low profile inside a security bubble as
he begins his third decade — an apparent response to the climate of
growing political violence that includes a series of assassination
attempts targeting his father, President Trump.
“He doesn’t go out,” one longtime Trumpworld figure told The Post of
the 20-year-old Barron, who just concluded his sophomore year at New
York University and has spent much of the summer with his mother, first
lady Melania Trump, at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New
Jersey.
“The kid’s pretty reclusive,” added another source.
While Donald Trump has survived at least three assassination attempts
since July 2024 — being shot and wounded at a campaign rally in Butler,
Pa.; stalked by a would-be assassin at his West Palm Beach, Fla. golf
course in September 2024; and attending the White House Correspondents’
Dinner that was attacked by a gunman this past April 25 — his youngest
son has not escaped the notice of America’s enemies.
Lakers owner Jeanie Buss blasts 'devious' siblings and launches legal action to stop $12.5bn sale
Jeanie Buss has stepped up the legal battle with her siblings over ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The six kids of the late former owner Jerry Buss are feuding over
selling their remaining 17.8% stakes in the team, after Joshua Kushner
and Bob Iger agreed a takeover with Mark Walter for his majority share,
valuing the franchise at $12.5 billion.
Jeanie, the only member of the family still part of the Lakers in the
title of team governor, is challenging a vote by her other five
siblings to sell their remaining shares to Kushner and Iger.
She has now filed a petition in Los Angeles Superior Court trying to
block their attempted sale of their minority ownership stake.
In court documents seen by the Daily Mail, Jeanie Buss called her
siblings 'devious' for their behavior and said she was 'blinded' by the
attempted sale.
Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon becomes king after death of father Harald — as royal family still reels from Epstein, rape scandals
Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon became King Haakon VIII following the
death of his father Harald V – but he inherits the throne at a time
when two scandals plagued the Scandinavian nation’s royal family.
Haakon, 53, assumed the Norwegian throne shortly after the 89-year-old
Harald, who was Europe’s oldest monarch and King Charles’ distant
cousin, died at Oslo University Hospital on Friday morning.
His ascension comes as the royal family tries to navigate its way
through a crisis, as it emerged that Haakon’s wife and Norway’s new
queen, Mette-Marit, sent fawning messages to convicted sex offender
Jeffrey Epstein and that his stepson was convicted of rape.
Biden-honored Iraqi official lands on US terror watchlist as Trump State Dept revokes visa
Taif Sami Mohammed now appears on the US terrorist watchlist after receiving Biden's Women of Courage Award in 2022
Four years ago, Taif Sami Mohammed was being celebrated by the United
States as one of the world’s most courageous women. Secretary of State
Antony Blinken praised the senior Iraqi official as the country’s "Iron
Woman," crediting her with stopping bribes, uncovering schemes that
enriched corrupt officials and fighting corruption despite threats
against her.
Today, Mohammed is believed to be outside Iraq, on the U.S. terrorist watchlist and can no longer enter the United States.
A State Department official told Fox News Digital that the department
revoked Mohammed’s visa this week, marking a dramatic reversal for an
official who received one of the Biden administration’s highest-profile
awards for women in 2022.
Sick crooks arrested after being filmed stealing jewelry from Nepal floods victims
Callous crooks have been filmed stealing jewelry from victims of this week’s historic flash floods in Nepal.
Madan Gurung, 25, and his accomplice Umesh Chaudhary, 38, were arrested
Thursday after video of their alleged crime spree went viral.
The woman had been swept down the Narayani River in Wednesday’s flood,
which was triggered by a glacier collapse and killed more than 540
people.
The men used wooden logs to bring the woman’s body to the shoreline
before Gurung snatched the earrings from the woman, video released by
Nepal police shows.
Soros, SPLC, CAIR Face Trump Admin Tax Scrutiny
George Soros' Open Society Foundations, the Southern Poverty Law Center
and the Council on American-Islamic Relations are among the nonprofits
that could lose their tax-exempt status as the Trump administration
cracks down on what officials consider "bogus" charities, the New York
Post reported Thursday, citing three sources familiar with the matter.
Treasury Department officials are preparing a sweeping audit of
organizations deemed to be abusing the federal tax code, the three
people briefed on the department's internal policy deliberations told
the Post.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's inner circle is drafting a blueprint
that could ultimately strip noncompliant organizations of their
501(c)(3) status, two of the people familiar with the plans told the
Post. The reviews could result in massive back payments and civil
penalties, the sources said.
Trump Vows Legal Order to Break up Food Processing 'nasty Monopoly'
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he was preparing a legal
order to allow farmers and ranchers to be given the right to process
their own food aimed at breaking what he called "a nasty monopoly"
among the nation's top processors. Trump did not name a particular
food or industry in his post on Truth Social but said he was
"authorizing legal documents to be drawn" quickly. Earlier this week,
Trump said he would see whether there are too many beef processing
plant regulations. Representatives for the White House did not
immediately respond to a request for more details on the order, which
comes as consumers continue to grapple with rising grocery prices
ahead of November's midterm election. Trump's move comes as the
nation's meat processing sector grapples with a 75-year trough in
supply as rising cattle costs outpace gains from soaring prices.
Four companies control about 85% of U.S. meat processing: Cargill;
Tyson Foods, JBS USA and National Beef Packing Co. Trump also
announced last week that more ground beef could be imported into the
United States without tariffs. The Justice Department has also said
it is investigating whether meatpacking companies were illegally
driving up consumer beef prices. (Reporting by Katharine Jackson,
Daphne Psaledakis and Susan Heavey; editing by Michelle Nichols and
Chizu Nomiyama )
Treasury is 100% right to crack down on activists masquerading as charities
By New York Post Editorial Board
Left or right, taxpayers shouldn’t have to subsidize political activism
they oppose, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is drafting plans to
ensure they don’t by revoking tax exemptions from bogus political
“charities.”
As The Post’s James Franey reports, Bessent and the IRS are taking a
hard look at the conduct of up to a dozen or so high-profile lefty
nonprofits — including George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, the
Southern Poverty Law Center and the Council on American-Islamic
Relations — with an eye toward possibly revoking their tax-exempt
status.
That could mean a $165 million windfall in new tax payments from these
groups — and, more important, end taxpayer subsidies for dubious or
even rancid political activism.
A Mike Johnson power move can neuter the DSA — and make Democrats pick a side
By Julian Epstein
Both the Democratic Party establishment and the GOP have been
flat-footed in their responses to the Democratic Socialists of America
and their “Summer of Love.”
The Democrats, led by invertebrate castratos like Senate Minority
Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, have
mostly ducked when asked about the DSA’s plans to destroy the US
Constitution, nationalize 90% of the economy and decapitate our
mechanisms of law and order.
They’ve taken cover behind the empty “Big Tent” lie as radical DSA
members and allies, like Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed and Colorado’s Melat
Kiros, triumph in Democratic primaries.
The GOP, for its part, has been mostly content with name-calling —
likening DSAers to such historical villains as Fidel Castro and Mao
Zedong — rather than countering them with a clear contrasting set of
policy ideas.
