- Friday June 26th, 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
Fertilizer Shipments Begin Exiting Through Hormuz Strait
Fertilizer shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have begun picking up
following an interim deal to end the Iran war, data showed, though
analysts say it will take time before they return to pre-conflict
levels and provide relief to the market.
Before the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28, about a third
of globally traded urea — the world's most widely used fertilizer — and
nearly half of seaborne sulfur, a key input, typically flowed through
the strait.
The near closure of the critical waterway for most of the conflict, however, sharply reduced those shipments.
IAEA Chief: Iran Deal Grants Access to Nuclear Inspectors
The interim U.S.-Iran peace accord gives U.N. nuclear
inspectors access to Iran, the watchdog's top official said on Friday,
after Tehran indicated key sites would remain off-limits until a final
deal with Washington was reached and sanctions lifted.
The U.S. and Iran last week signed a memorandum of understanding
paving the way for 60 days of talks to resolve thornier issues,
including those related to Iran's nuclear program.
Iran's deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Wednesday there were no plans to grant access to inspectors.
White House condemns 'targeted sabotage' of reflecting pool as repairs pushed past July 4 celebration
Court document says damage included sealant cut with a sharp knife and approximately 70 fence post tops thrown into water
A court document released by the White House revealed that the National
Park Service (NPS) plans to drain the reflecting pool again after
Independence Day to conduct repairs after it was allegedly vandalized.
In the document, which was filed in federal court on Thursday, NPS
Deputy Director for Operations Frank Lands states that on June 9, U.S.
Park Police responded to a report of damage to the reflecting pool.
Lands stated that the damage to the pool included caulk over the foam
sealant that was cut with a "sharp knife or razor" and "destruction of
delaminating surface material." He also said approximately 70 fence
post tops were thrown into the pool.
Slotkin says Democratic Party needs 'new leadership': 'Old models are no longer working'
Sen Elissa Slotkin's remarks come as democratic socialists scored primary wins in New York
Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., said she believes the Democratic Party is
in need of "new leadership," arguing that the party never completely
recovered after its losses in the 2024 elections.
During an appearance on SiriusXM's "Straight Shooter" on Wednesday, the
senator told host Stephen A. Smith, "Every day there’s a debate within
the party about the path forward."
"That's why I believe we need significant new leadership. The old
models are no longer working, and that includes the Democratic Party,"
she said.
Slotkin explained that new leaders are needed in both the House and the
Senate, adding that her party needs to center its focus more on a few
key issues.
IRGC forces tankers to turnaround in Strait of Hormuz as Trump insists waterway is open
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forced three foreign oil
tankers to turn around in the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera reported
Friday, citing Iranian state media.
Turkish state-affiliated broadcaster Anadolu corroborated the reports, also citing Iranian state broadcaster IRIB.
The vessels attempted to cross the southern tip of the Strait without
coordinating with Iranian authorities, prompting the IRGC to issue a
warning that attempting to cross without Tehran's permission was
"illegal, unacceptable and highly dangerous," according to Anadolu.
The vessels then turned back towards the Persian Gulf, according to the outlet.
Ex-Trump official John Bolton pleads guilty to 1 of 18 counts in classified docs indictment
John Bolton, once a staunch Trump ally, pleaded guilty to retaining classified documents
Former White House National Security Advisor John Bolton pleaded guilty
on Friday to only one count of an 18-count indictment, but he will not
be sentenced until the fall.
During a hearing at the federal district court in Greenbelt, Maryland,
Bolton pleaded guilty to the twelfth count, alleging he had
unauthorized possession of a document related to national defense.
The count typically has a maximum penalty of 10 years behind bars, but
both sides agreed that five years will be the most prison time that can
be imposed.
Trump Returns to Hotel After Assassination Attempt
President Donald Trump on Friday returns to a famed Washington hotel
for the first time since an armed attacker forced the postponement of
the White House Correspondents' Association dinner in April.
Trump is slated to appear at the Washington Hilton to address the Faith and Freedom Coalition's annual "Road to Majority" event.
He cut short his appearance at the April 25 dinner after a man armed
with a shotgun tried to get past Secret Service officials guarding the
hotel's ballroom.
WNBA suspends Alyssa Thomas for 'recklessly' hitting Caitlin Clark in throat during scramble
The league deemed Thomas' contact a 'non-basketball act' after Fever coach Stephanie White criticized the officiating
The WNBA reviewed the Caitlin Clark-Alyssa Thomas incident from Wednesday night.
The league apparently didn’t like what it saw.
Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas received a Flagrant Foul 2
penalty and a one-game suspension after the league reviewed her contact
with Clark during the Mercury’s 111-109 win over the Indiana Fever at
Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The WNBA announced Thursday that Thomas was punished for "recklessly making contact with her fist to the throat area" of Clark.
New Nancy Guthrie note sent to TMZ claims to have footage of Savannah’s mom on ‘day that was probably her last’
TMZ received another note claiming to know the identities of Nancy
Guthrie’s kidnappers — insisting the author has a video of one of the
“main” goons and the 84-year-old on the day she died, the outlet
revealed Friday.
The chilling new email was reportedly sent from the same mystery person
who previously demanded one bitcoin in exchange for information related
to Guthrie’s disappearance.
“I have a phone stashed in a secure location guaranteeing both the
information it stores and the safety of the phone,” the person behind
the note wrote, according to TMZ.
“What it contains is my definition of delivering them on a silver
platter, a short video of the main guy with nancy the day that was
probably her last, pictures of both involved, names and addresses and
age.”
Tyler Robinson still faces death penalty as judge issues scathing ruling against prosecutors
Accused Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson will still face the death
penalty — despite a judge on Friday ruling that prosecutors violated a
gag order and threw the case into chaos.
Utah Judge Tony Graf found prosecutor Christopher Ballard in civil
contempt for chatting to media outlets about Robinson’s case — but
refused to take the death penalty off the table, as the defense
requested.
Robinson’s team claimed that prosecutors needed to be sanctioned after
they responded to a misleading defense filing suggesting the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives determined the bullet in the
gun Robinson allegedly used to shoot the conservative podcaster didn’t
match the round found in Kirk’s body.
China is building an AI war machine. Washington must wake up before it’s too late
The contest between Washington and Beijing has moved beyond software into chips, energy and data centers
By Lt. Col. Robert Maginnis, (ret.)
On June 24, OpenAI unveiled its first custom-built inference chip,
developed with Broadcom and known internally as "Jalapeņo." Most
Americans will never see it. Yet Beijing certainly noticed. The
announcement signals that the contest between America and China has
moved beyond software and chatbots into a struggle for control of the
infrastructure that will shape economic, military and technological
power in the twenty-first century.
The nations that control the chips, data centers, electricity and
networks behind advanced computing systems may shape the global balance
of power for decades to come. That reality should concern every
American.
While Washington debates inflation, immigration and the latest foreign
crisis, a new Cold War is accelerating beneath the surface. Unlike the
last one, this competition is not primarily about nuclear weapons,
tanks, or ideology. It is about machine intelligence.
Look in the mirror, New York Democrats — your misrule paved the DSA’s way
By Michael Benjamin
“The chickens are coming home to roost,” one young Democratic operative
ruefully told me Wednesday, as we surveyed the wreckage that remained
after a raft of far-left House candidates won stunning primary-night
victories.
Indeed, Tuesday’s Democratic Socialist romp can’t be blamed on outside
factors like inflation or Israel or the national party’s mad obsession
with countering President Donald Trump’s every move.
No, it’s the result of 15 years of New York Democrats’ single-party rule — and the monstrous ego of Andrew Cuomo.
The former governor’s utterly narcissistic presidential ambitions launched New York down a progressive road to perdition.
Starting with relatively mild policies like marriage equality, Cuomo
made concession after concession to thwart leftist challengers — from
authorizing “bail reforms” that released hordes of repeat offenders, to
onerous climate laws that hiked utility bills, to anti-landlord
measures that worsened the housing crisis.
