- Wednesday September 23rd, 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
Trump Says 'Momentum' Building for Iran Deal at Expanded Mideast Meeting
President Donald Trump met Tuesday with senior
representatives from 12 Middle Eastern countries in an expanded
gathering on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly,
discussing the war with Iran, the Strait of Hormuz, and broader
regional security.
The meeting was formally billed by the White House as a multilateral
meeting with the Gulf Cooperation Council, but representatives from six
additional Middle Eastern countries also attended, according to a White
House pool report and the Times of Israel.
Along with the six GCC states — Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates,
Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman — the meeting included senior officials
from Iraq, Jordan, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt, the Times of
Israel reported.
A big win for Donald Trump: Iran could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 7 days
Iran may be close to reopening the
Strait of Hormuz within seven days in the prospect of renewed diplomacy
with the United States.
Reuters reports that an unnamed senior Iranian official said the vital
shipping lane, which has been closed since the start of the war at the
end of February, could be reopened within a week subject to conditions.
It comes ahead of an important week for the U.S., with President Donald
Trump set to meet leaders from the Gulf states as well as Chinese
President Xi Jinping – a long-standing ally of Iran.
An Iranian official told Reuters that the strait could be reopened
within a week, provided the U.S. lifts its naval blockade of Iranian
ports and eases military pressure.
“The U.S. needs to announce that it wants to resolve the issue
diplomatically, make that official, and then agree on a timeline for
how the process will move forward,” the senior official told Reuters.
Iran’s president claims country has been ‘victim of terrorism’ at UN — despite funding terror groups worldwide
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian claimed his country has “been the
victim of terrorism” and blamed the US and Israel for instability in
the Middle East while speaking at the United Nations on Wednesday.
Pezeshkian, whose nation is the leading funder of terror groups across
the region, blamed the war on the US and Israel — while reiterating
claims that an American bomb was behind the deadly Minab school strike
in February that killed 120 children.
“The United States president described us as terrorists,” he told world
leaders gathered in New York. “We have been the victims of terrorism.”
Pezeshkian also mourned slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as he held a
picture of the ayatollah, prompting the sole American delegate at the
meeting to walk out.
Lost in translation: Israel, Huckabee blast Macron over Hamas comments as France clarifies wording
Ambassador Danny Danon called on Macron to 'do your homework before lecturing Israel'
President Donald Trump offered a roaring counterbalance to a spate of
world leaders bashing Israel or appearing to equivocate between the
Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks and Jerusalem’s response — as one world
leader was assailed for his comments on Hamas.
Gaza dominated the opening day of the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday,
despite a ceasefire, as world leaders accused Israel of continuing to
displace Palestinians and undermine prospects for peace.
French President Emmanuel Macron accused Israel of violating
Palestinian rights in the West Bank, questioning the justification for
its actions and making a remark that was translated as "Hamas was never
active in the West Bank."
Marco Rubio now accuses Ukraine: They hit on ships carrying oil for the US
Ukraine’s campaign against Russia’s energy industry has become one of
Kyiv’s tools for squeezing Moscow’s wartime economy. From refineries to
other oil infrastructure, Ukrainian drones have repeatedly reached deep
into Russian territory.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio now says some of those attacks have also come dangerously close to American interests.
Speaking to Fox News on Tuesday, Rubio accused Ukraine of striking
vessels linked to the United States and supplies ultimately destined
for the US – even while acknowledging that Kyiv may not have intended
to hit them. Fox News separately described Rubio’s remarks as
concerning “American-linked ships and oil supplies.”
Rubio said several incidents involving ships with US connections had occurred during recent months.
China lays out ‘red lines’ for Trump-Xi meeting as GOP lawmaker criticizes ‘lavish welcome’
China’s ambassador to the US has specified four topics that Beijing
expects President Trump to avoid during Xi Jinping‘s state visit this
week — while a Senate Republican foreign policy buff bashed the “lavish
welcome” planned for the Chinese president.
Xie Feng, in an op-ed for the official People’s Daily newspaper, wrote
that “China’s sovereignty, security, and development interests cannot
be violated, and four red lines — the Taiwan question, democracy and
human rights, development paths and systems, and development rights —
cannot be challenged.”
Xi continually pressed the issue of Taiwan, the self-governing,
democratic island that China claims as its own, when he and Trump met
in Beijing back in May, causing their scheduled meeting to run long.
The Trump administration shrugged off Xi’s attempt to buttonhole Trump
on the topic, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio telling “NBC Nightly
News” at the time that “US policy on the issue of Taiwan is unchanged
as of today and as of the meeting that we had here.”
‘Palestinian Rachel Dolezal’ outed as white woman of ‘significant privilege and wealth’
A woke “black” and anti-Israel activist has been dubbed the
“Palestinian Rachel Dolezal” after she was outed for being a white,
Jewish woman who lied about her identity for years.
Hannah Gann, a Philadelphia teacher, was forced to confess she was a
“white woman of significant privilege and wealth” after fellow lefty
activists grew suspicious of her background and confronted her.
“I lied about my identity and have been lying for years. I have no
Palestinian or Tunisian heritage,” she wrote in a self-aggrandizing
apology on Instagram.
Socialist mayor’s new answer to rampant retail crime ignites fury: ‘Bandage on a bullet wound’
The initiative funds security, repairs and operational support for independent grocers in underserved neighborhoods
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson is rolling out city-funded security for
grocery stores facing theft, break-ins and vandalism, fueling criticism
that Seattle is spending taxpayer money to protect businesses from
crime instead of doing enough to stop it in the first place.
The socialist mayor announced the rollout of the security funding as
part of a $1.7 million grocery-support initiative included in the
city's 2026 budget earlier this week.
"Keeping our neighborhood grocery stores safe and supported is
essential to making sure every Seattleite has a reliable, affordable
grocery store near them," Wilson said on social media Monday.
Trump Blasts CNN, MS Now Over UN Coverage
President Donald Trump took aim at the "sick, treasonous, and demented"
White House-banned left-leaning media outlets, which were present at
the United Nations on Tuesday despite their pool coverage having been
suspended.
Trump singled out CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins in a late-night Truth
Social post after she and other reporters covered his appearance at the
United Nations General Assembly in New York.
"All of the SLEAZEBAGS, like Third Rate 'Reporter,' Kaitlan Collins, of
Fake News CNN, a truly unhappy person, said they weren't going to be
covering me," Trump wrote.
"Then why were they ranting and raving like Lunatics, in the Press
Area, at the United Nations? Why was she there? She's got a 'TRUMP'
addiction, and so does CNN and MSDNC. They're all sick, treasonous, and
demented!" he added.
The broadside came after Trump confronted Collins earlier Tuesday at
U.N. headquarters, telling her CNN should not be covering him after the
network's dispute with the White House.
Democrats have lost all sight of what a liberal society means
By New York Post Editorial Board
Democrats have grown so unmoored that a majority of them would be happy
if a military coup overthrew President Donald Trump and seized control
of America . . . to “safeguard the Constitution.”
Yes, a new survey finds their derangement so profound that most Dems
say they would welcome the armed forces ending civilian democratic rule
— burning the Constitution to “save” it.
And that’s just the appetizer in a five-course meal of despair.
While a third of Democrats would find it “Very Negative” to learn of
Trump being assassinated at a rally, another third would view it as
“Very” or “Somewhat Positive.”
A full 45% would be elated if they were to wake up and hear the prez “died overnight in his sleep.”
Supreme Court can restore sanity and stop the left’s radical climate agenda
Justices will hear Suncor v. Boulder as several municipalities pursue carbon emissions litigation
By John Yoo
When the U.S. Supreme Court opens its new term on Oct. 5, the justices
will face the critical question of whether Congress or Boulder,
Colorado, controls American energy policy. Cities such as Boulder,
Honolulu and Baltimore have pursued frivolous lawsuits against energy
companies on the claim that big oil concealed the effects of their
products on climate change.
While states generally set policy over public health and safety,
constitutional law and Supreme Court precedent should make the answer
clear. Energy forms a central part of the national economy and makes a
foundational contribution to American national security. The
Constitution vests authority over interstate commerce and national
security in the federal government, not the states.
But until the court resolves this matter once and for all in Suncor v.
Boulder, dozens of states and municipalities, backed by climate
activists, will keep pushing legal theories in state court intended to
impose ruinous liability on energy companies for lawful carbon
emissions. Without the court’s intervention, climate litigants would
sue American energy into financial oblivion, inflict enormous costs on
the American economy and render the nation more vulnerable to coercion
by nations such as Russia and Ira
