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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 on Book Cover) World & Nation US Offers $10 Million Reward for Intel on Iranian Leaders The U.S. State Department has announced it is offering rewards of up to $10 million for information leading to senior Iranian military and security officials accused of directing operations and cyberattacks against U.S. entities, as Washington escalates pressure on the Islamic Republic. The State Department's Rewards for Justice program announced Monday that it was seeking information on five senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps leaders: IRGC chief Ahmad Vahidi; Ali Abdollahi, the former head of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters who was appointed to lead Iran's conventional military earlier this month; IRGC Aerospace Force drone chief Saeed Aghajani; IRGC Cyber Electronic Command chief Hamidreza Lashgarian; and IRGC Intelligence chief Majid Khademi. The inclusion of Khademi is notable because he was killed in an Israeli airstrike in April during Operation Roaring Lion, The Jerusalem Post reported. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed his death at the time, while the IRGC later acknowledged his death and included his remains in a public burial ceremony for Iranian officials killed in targeted strikes.
California sheriff doubles down on seizing ballots as state Supreme Court hears whether he must return them Attorney General Rob Bonta argues Bianco violated state law by holding Proposition 50 special election ballots as evidence Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco remains defiant as the California Supreme Court deliberates whether he has to return approximately 650,000 ballots he seized from a November 2025 special election on redistricting. The court heard arguments Monday from Bianco’s lawyers and from California, where state Attorney General Rob Bonta launched a legal challenge to Bianco’s ballot seizures in March, ordering him to return the ballots. Bianco, however, refused, arguing through his legal team that he had a legal obligation to investigate the ballots after receiving a complaint. Iran announced a gas field holding more than seven trillion cubic feet, equal to fifteen years of a South Pars phase Iran has announced the discovery of a new natural gas field at a far from convenient time, as the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian fuel leaving the Strait of Hormuz remains in place and the country faces an economic crisis. Oil Minister Mohsen Paknehad said on Sunday, August 23, that a field in the southern Fars province contains more than 7.5 trillion cubic feet of gas, with roughly 5.7 trillion cubic feet deemed recoverable. The ministry says that more than 72% of the gas could ultimately be extracted, and would therefore become a valuable form of revenue for the struggling Islamic regime. But finding gas and producing it are two very different things - and at present, there is little hope that Iran will have an easy time recovering, processing, and selling it on the international market. The discovery was announced by Paknejad during an appearance on Iranian state television on Sunday, where he said the newly identified reserve could eventually provide Iran with the equivalent of 15 years of production from a single phase of South Pars, the massive offshore gas field that Iran shares with Qatar. Trump warns Iran after Navy reports milestone in de-mining Strait of Hormuz President Donald Trump says the U.S. Navy has successfully cleared all mines from the Strait of Hormuz. Trump made the announcement in a post on Truth Social, adding that the U.S. Space Force is watching "every square inch of the strait." "I have just been informed by the United States Navy that all mines have been removed and/or detonated from within the International Waters of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has been notified that any ship or boat placing new mines will be immediately and systematically destroyed," Trump wrote. Putin launches desperate power grab as humiliating attacks escalate Russian President Vladimir Putin has executed a desperate power grab, granting the state sweeping authority to seize control of critically important infrastructure deemed poorly protected from Ukrainian drone attacks. The presidential decree allows the state to take over temporary administration of physical and financial assets, as well as formal ownership rights, for fuel, energy, industrial, communications, transport, and logistics facilities if owners fail to protect or quickly repair them. The mandate follows Putin’s order last week to rebuild commercial warehouses destroyed by Kyiv’s punishing air campaign, which has struck at least two dozen logistics hubs belonging to top retailer Wildberries since mid-July and targeted four southern hubs of second-largest retailer Ozon. Russia, meanwhile, continues striking Ukrainian energy infrastructure ahead of winter, while Ukrainian urban areas face increasingly deadly attacks as Kyiv battles a severe shortage of air-defense interceptors. A US carrier strike group is shadowing tense waters as commanders warn of a miscalculation A United States aircraft carrier and its escorting warships have moved into the contested South China Sea following a series of confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels, placing a heavily armed naval formation into some of the most closely watched waters on the planet. Defense analysts have warned that the concentration of rival forces in a small, disputed area raises the risk of an accidental clash that could escalate faster than either side intends. The deployment is the latest chapter in a long-running standoff over sovereignty and freedom of navigation. A carrier strike group is built around a single nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, which serves as a mobile airbase carrying dozens of fighter jets and support aircraft. Surrounding the carrier is a screen of guided-missile cruisers and destroyers that provide air defense, anti-submarine protection, and long-range strike capability, often accompanied by supply ships and at least one submarine. Together the formation projects the firepower of a small air force into any ocean it enters. The presence of such a group is meant to signal commitment without firing a shot, reassuring allies and deterring rivals. Naval affairs coverage from the United States Naval Institute at news.usni.org tracked the group’s movement through the region after weeks of operations in nearby waters. CIA Director John Ratcliffe secretly traveled to Russia — as mystery swirls over military flight landing in Moscow: reports CIA Director John Ratcliffe is visiting Moscow Tuesday, according to reports — after a mysterious military flight landed in the Russian capital. Ratcliffe arrived aboard a C-17 transport plane that departed Joint Base Andrews, a base outside Washington used for high-ranking official travel. The plane stopped in Latvia en route to Moscow, with the Pentagon and White House initially declining to comment on who was aboard. Ratcliffe is one of Trump’s most trusted advisers and heavily involved with the Iran war, though it is unclear what he may be discussing with Russian leaders. South Carolina Senate Race Dead Heat A final Trafalgar Group poll shows South Carolina's Republican Senate runoff in a virtual dead heat ahead of Tuesday's vote. The survey, conducted Aug. 22-24, found Sen. Darline Graham with 47.9% support and Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., at 47.8%, with 4.4% undecided. The poll surveyed 1,031 respondents and has a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points. Public polling in the race has been scant. The Trafalgar results underscore the uncertainty surrounding the special-election runoff, which will determine the GOP nominee for a full six-year term in the seat formerly held by Graham's late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham.
Florida-led operation rescues 163 children around globe in historic state sweep, hunts suspected predators Attorney General James Uthmeier said some children were runaways while others had been abandoned, abused or trafficked A multi-agency effort in Florida has recovered 163 children — from 2 months old to 17 — across five continents during Operation Statewide Shield, Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Tuesday. Working with federal and foreign law enforcement agencies, Florida law enforcement officials spent five days in mid-August tracking and recovering the missing children. Some of the children were runaways, Uthmeier’s office said. Some had been abandoned, neglected or abused. Some had been trafficked. "Many of these kids have been victimized by those who prey on the most vulnerable," Uthmeier said. Denmark's left-wing PM warns: 'Big enemy has started to grow from within' as Europe faces migrant reckoning Mette Frederiksen has long pushed strict migration rules and recently warned about Islamic extremism on the continent Denmark's left-wing prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, has sent shock waves throughout the European left after recent comments about the Scandinavian nation's — and the continent's — failure to deal with radical Islam among migrant communities. Her comments come after the mass migration chaos in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, when Frederiksen criticized the actions of Spain's leftist leader, Pedro Sánchez, during a special session on Ceuta in the Danish Parliament. Responding to a question from a far-left legislator on Denmark’s apparent lack of "solidarity" with Spain against "anti-democratic forces" pressuring Europe, Frederiksen said, "If we talk about undemocratic forces, then Russia is our biggest enemy. The problem is that a big enemy has started to grow from within, and it is foreigners who have come to Europe," according to an English translation. Trump Floats Renaming Lake Ontario as 'Lake America' as Trade War With Canada Escalates President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he is considering changing the name of Lake Ontario to "Lake America" as the trade war between the United States and Canada intensifies. Such a change would be reminiscent of the Republican president's unilateral action last year by executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. The United States and Canada are locked in a trade dispute, with Canada expected to announce retaliatory measures Tuesday. That's in response to the Trump administration enacting 50% tariffs on $20 billion of Canadian goods over the weekend after talks between the countries broke down.
China is cheering as the left blocks America’s AI infrastructure Groups tied to American Marxist Neville Roy Singham have delayed about $24B in AI infrastructure, per BPI research By Liz Peek
The progressive left is working hard to derail America’s AI dominance by blocking data center construction. So is China. The AI push is critical to U.S. national security, to win what retired Lt. Col. Robert Maginnis calls the "new AI Cold War with China." But, it is also essential to U.S. economic growth. The U.S. needs to buttress its shrinking workforce, and AI agents are standing by to take over from retiring Boomers, self-deporting immigrants, and a declining number of college graduates. AI is coming of age at the perfect time and yet anti-growth activists, amplified by foreign adversaries and media alarmism, want to shut it all down. China is helping them do that. While concerns about the build-out of energy-hungry data centers across the country are spurring authentic local opposition, there is also little doubt that America’s enemies are encouraging the resistance. Operation Economic Outcast is a recipe for success against Iran By Richard Goldberg
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday launched what he called Operation Economic Outcast — a global campaign to shut down every last source of financial oxygen feeding a fractured rump regime in Tehran that’s already circling the economic drain. Combined with the US military’s growing success in covertly moving oil out of the Strait of Hormuz, President Trump will edge one step closer to checkmate against Iran’s Revolutionary Guard when he gives the green light to drop the hammer on nations that ignore America’s final warning. The United States can’t force other countries to join a bombing run. It can’t compel foreign navies to patrol the Persian Gulf. But it can change economic behavior through the threat and imposition of US secondary sanctions — on private banks, brokers and exchanges, airport authorities and aviation service providers, shippers and insurers, and even state-owned enterprises and government instrumentalities. The threat of secondary sanctions can shut down trade across land borders and keep airplanes grounded. It can also disrupt the movement of cash, cryptocurrency, goods and services. Pulling the trigger on these sanctions can be disruptive. It can break a diplomatic relationship, crash a foreign country’s economy or cause temporary knock-on effects in the global economy. |
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